JOINED CABINET IN FIRST 100 DAYS
Confirmed
officials
Acting
officials
depart
Confirmed
officials
Departing
officials
SIX MONTHS IN
Science Adviser
Eric Lander
takes longest
to install but
becomes the
first to leave,
following
allegations of
mistreatment
of staff
Acting
officials
join
John Kelly leaves
Homeland
Security to
become chief of
staff
ONE YEAR IN
CIA Director Mike Pompeo
becomes sec. of state
Trump fires Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson
Jim Mattis resigns
after clash over
troop withdrawals
Jeff Zients
replaces Ron Klain
as chief of staff
TWO YEARS IN
Labor Secretary Marty
Walsh leaves to lead the
NHL players association
Energy Secretary
Rick Perry steps down
THREE YEARS IN
Housing secretary
Marcia Fudge becomes
2nd Cabinet Secretary
to exit
Mark Meadows
becomes Trump’s
fourth chief of staff
APRIL 2024
Trump fires his
fourth Pentagon
chief, Mark Esper
William Barr resigns as
Trump is refusing to
concede the 2020 election
END OF TERM
Betsy DeVos (Education) and
Elaine Chao (Transportation) depart
following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Note: Acting officials who served only during the first
100 days are not shown. Acting officials who were
confirmed are not shown as a departure.
JOINED CABINET IN FIRST 100 DAYS
JOINED CABINET IN FIRST 100 DAYS
Acting
officials
Confirmed
officials
Science Adviser
Eric Lander takes
longest to install …
SIX MONTHS IN
Departing
officials
John Kelly leaves
Homeland Security
to become chief
of staff
HHS chief Tom Price
resigns amid criticism of
taxpayer-funded charter flights
Acting
officials
… but becomes the
first to leave,
following allegations
of mistreatment
of staff
ONE YEAR IN
Trump fires Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson
CIA Director
Mike Pompeo
becomes
sec. of state
Shalanda Young, is
confirmed to lead
Biden’s budget office
Scott Pruitt steps down
as EPA head after ethics,
management scandals
Attorney General
Jeff Sessions resigns
at Trump’s request
Mick Mulvaney
becomes acting
chief of staff after
Kelly’s departure
Jeff Zients replaces
Ron Klain as
chief of staff
TWO YEARS IN
Jim Mattis resigns
after clash over troop
withdrawals
William Barr
becomes
attorney
general
DHS secretary
Kirstjen Nielsen leaves
amid surge of migrants
Labor Secretary
Marty Walsh leaves
to lead the NHL
players association
Energy Secretary
Rick Perry steps down
THREE YEARS IN
Mark Meadows
becomes Trump’s
fourth chief of staff
Housing secretary
Marcia Fudge
becomes 2nd Cabinet
Secretary to exit
APRIL 2024
Trump fires his
fourth Pentagon
chief, Mark Esper
William Barr
resigns as Trump is
refusing to concede
the 2020 election
END OF TERM
Betsy DeVos (Education) and
Elaine Chao (Transportation) depart
following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Note: Acting officials who served only during the first 100 days are not shown. Acting officials who were
confirmed are not shown as a departure.
JOINED CABINET IN FIRST 100 DAYS
JOINED CABINET IN FIRST 100 DAYS
Acting
officials
Confirmed
officials
Science Adviser
Eric Lander takes
longest to install …
SIX MONTHS IN
Departing
officials
John Kelly leaves
Homeland Security to
become chief of staff
Acting
officials
HHS chief Tom Price resigns
amid criticism of taxpayer-
funded charter flights
Kirstjen Nielsen
confirmed for
Homeland Security
ONE YEAR IN
“I did not resign,”
VA Secretary David
Shulkin said
after departing
Trump fires
Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson
… but becomes the first to leave, following allegations
of mistreatment of staff.
CIA Director
Mike Pompeo becomes
secretary of state
Shalanda Young, is
confirmed to lead
Biden’s budget office
Scott Pruitt steps down as EPA head after ethics, management scandals
Attorney General
Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump’s request
Nikki Haley
resigns as UN
ambassador
Mick Mulvaney becomes
acting chief of staff
after Kelly’s departure
Jeff Zients replaces
Ron Klain as
chief of staff
TWO YEARS IN
William Barr becomes
attorney general
Interior Secretary
Ryan Zinke resigns
amid investigations
Jim Mattis resigns
after clash over
troop withdrawals
DHS secretary
Kirstjen Nielsen leaves
amid surge of migrants
Labor Secretary Marty
Walsh leaves to lead the
NHL players association
Biden elevates William
Burns, CIA director,
to his Cabinet
Energy Secretary
Rick Perry steps down
THREE YEARS IN
Mark Meadows
becomes Trump’s
fourth chief of staff
APRIL 2024
Housing Secretary
Marcia Fudge becomes
Biden’s second Cabinet
department head to depart
Trump fires his
fourth Pentagon
chief, Mark Esper
William Barr
resigns as Trump is
refusing to concede
the 2020 election
END OF TERM
Betsy DeVos (Education) and
Elaine Chao (Transportation) depart
following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Note: Acting officials who served only during the first 100 days are not shown. Acting officials who were confirmed are not shown as a departure.
The Cabinet consists of the leaders of the 15 major executive departments — think Defense, State, Justice — as well as additional senior officials. These can include the Environment Protection Agency administrator and small business chief, ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. trade representative. The vice president and the White House chief of staff, not Senate-confirmed appointments, are also in the Cabinet.
About three-quarters of Trump’s initial Cabinet picks were gone by the end of his four years in office, while only a handful have left Biden’s almost three and a half years in.
The contrast is stark. More of the core Cabinet department heads had left by Trump’s third year in office than in any recent presidents’ entire four-year term, according to Brookings Institution data.
Turnover creates enormous amounts of disruption, said Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service.
“It’s not just a single person turning over, but a large number of other people as dominoes fall from the boss leaving,” Stier said. “That means that the people inside the organization don’t have clarity around what the priorities are to achieve because leadership is setting the strategic direction.”
Looking at the entire Cabinet, only five officials have left Biden’s so far, whereas Trump’s saw more than 20 depart his, not including at least 17 other acting officials that stepped in temporarily.
“I like acting because I can move so quickly,” Trump told CBS’s “Face the Nation” in 2019. “It gives me more flexibility.”
Stier said a “merry-go-round” of leadership can hamper government response in a crisis. “My metaphor on the acting side is to think about acting officials as the substitute teacher. Do you really want to send your child to a school that is made up of substitute teachers?”