(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) With two of President Donald Trump’s most powerful Cabinet members getting their walking papers within a one-month span, some questioned whether the shakeup might extend even farther.
The former “Apprentice” host, whose first term in office saw significant turmoil due to turnovers, was rumored to be considering pink slips for Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick, Labor Sec. Lori Chavez–DeRemer and even popular Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
NEW: Trump is considering more changes to his Cabinet, according to four officials.
He has expressed frustration and disappointment with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
"He's very angry and he's going to be moving people," an… pic.twitter.com/xvlT2hrHui
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) April 2, 2026
The rumors come after seemingly amicable layoffs recently for Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“He’s very angry and he’s going to be moving people,” an anonymous source within the administration told Politico.
A second senior official, also anonymous, cited Trump’s frustration with those who have “underperformed or who have generated too much negative attention.”
However, other officials, including White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers, disavowed the gossip, saying that Lutnick and Chavez–DeRemer were “both doing a great job standing up for American workers, and they continue to have President Trump’s full support.”
Trump himself appeared to debunk earlier rumors about Gabbard while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.
“She’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to serve,” he said, citing her “softer” stance on the issue of Iran having a nuclear weapon.
🚨 JUST IN: Advisors close to President Trump were pushing to move Pam Bondi into the role of Director of National Intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard
President Trump SHOT DOWN that idea, saying he wants to keep Tulsi in her role, per CBS
47 is firmly behind Tulsi. pic.twitter.com/mCQjhuookL
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 2, 2026
The noncommittal answer, conveying confidence mixed with criticism, mirrored Trump’s earlier denials that Bondi was on the chopping block ahead of Thursday’s departure.
But top White House spokesman Steven Cheung reiterated in a statement that Trump “has confidence in Director Gabbard and the tireless work she is doing.”
According to The Guardian, Trump privately polled his top advisers about whether to fire Gabbard, citing frustration over her handling of the recent departure of Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
Kent criticized Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran after having campaigned on a staunchly pacifist “America First” platform.
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
Gabbard, a former Democrat lawmaker, likewise has cited Trump’s prior noninterventionist policies as a top reason for her “red pill” conversion ahead of the 2024 election.
Gabbard told Headline USA in an exclusive July 2024 interview that if called to serve in Trump’s Cabinet she would take a hardline stance in promoting peace.
“I could directly wrestle control away from the military–industrial complex and the neocons of Washington and actually be in a position to help effect the kind of policies President Trump talks about: to actually bring about peace, to walk us back from the brink of nuclear war — an issue he talks about quite strongly and with great concern — and to get our country back on track,” she said.
Among the rumors being floated was one that Bondi might replace Gabbard, although she indicated in a statement of her own that she intended to enter the private sector.
Over the next month I will be working tirelessly to transition the office of Attorney General to the amazing Todd Blanche before moving to an important private sector role I am thrilled about, and where I will continue fighting for President Trump and this Administration.…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) April 2, 2026
Trump’s forbearance from firing members of his inner circle may have stemmed from the escalating series of problems created with his first-term firings — including that of Obama FBI Director James Comey, who vindictively triggered the Mueller investigation into phony Russian collusion after his unceremonious ouster.
Other top officials, such as former communications director Anthony Scaramucci, former chief of staff John Kelly and former national security adviser John Bolton, all became high-profile critics after being booted from the White House.
Nonetheless, Trump also suffered from keeping intact disloyal and ineffective staffers who proceeded to undermine him from within.
He pledged to do a better job vetting his team the second time around.
“I’ve been through it. I know the good people, I know the bad people. I know weak people and strong people,” Trump said at a 2023 speech in North Carolina. “I know the people that are losers that we don’t want; I know the people that are winners that a lot of people don’t know or understand.”
Yet, some of his second-term selections — including Chavez–DeRemer, a pro-union Republican from deep-blue Oregon — fueled early skepticism that he might face similar struggles due to their diverging viewpoints or political inexperience.
In his statement affirming Gabbard, Cheung instead highlighted the successes that Trump and his team had achieved during the first phase of his current term.
“He has assembled the most talented and impactful cabinet ever, and they have collectively delivered historic victories on behalf of the American people,” Cheung said.
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
