Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats testifies to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about "worldwide threats" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2019.
US President Donald Trump’s tenure continues to be a revolving door with a record-setting level of resignations and firings involving top administrative officials showing no signs of abating.
The latest high-profile resignation came in the form of Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, whose official tenure was coming to an end next month.
The directorate of the National Intelligence was formed in 2004 as an umbrella organisation to lead all US intelligence agencies and track security threats in a collaborative manner.
Coats will join other high-ranking officials who have departed during Trump’s tenure, including the secretary of state, Pentagon chief and attorney general. The total number of departed officials has passed 50 since the beginning of the Trump presidency in January 2017.
Loyalism versus meritocracy
Trump signalled that he will nominate John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican and loyalist, whose performance against the former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was praised by Trump's allies.
Mueller investigated Russia's role in influencing the 2016 US elections, which resulted in Trump being elected, and also testified before the US Congress.
The latest departure has also indicated Trump’s tendency to choose loyalists over meritorious candidates. The president has also shown dislike for those who do not toe his line on local and foriegn issues. Coats, 76, a veteran Republican, liked to express his own opinion, at times differing from Trump's views on crucial issues such as Washington's Russia policy and Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Earlier this year Coats told a Senate committee that the intelligence community had not been convinced that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon. Trump immediately responded to him on Twitter, describing Coat’s stance as “passive and naive”. Coats, a former diplomat, has served in Congress for more than three decades.
Here we sum up other high-level exits during the Trump presidency:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Last month, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a loyalist, also stepped down from her post despite apparently having no issue with the president himself.
She has been replaced by Stephanie Grisham, one of the First Lady’s top advisers.
White House spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks to journalists suring a press conference on September 28 2017.
Jim Mattis
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, arguably the most respected foreign policy official, resigned on December 20 after Trump announced an abrupt withdrawal of US troops from Syria.
“You have the right to have a secretary of defence whose views are better aligned,” the defence secretary told Trump in his resignation letter after two years of deep disagreements with Trump over America's role in the world.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis (R) waits to welcome Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman at the Pentagon in Washington, US on March 16, 2017.
Ryan Zinke
Trump announced on December 15 that Zinke would be leaving the administration at the end of the year after having served for a period of almost two years as the US Secretary of the Interior.
Zinke is one of several members of Trump's cabinet to come under fire over expenditures, including reports that his department was spending nearly $139,000 to upgrade three sets of double doors in his office - a cost he later said he negotiated down to $75,000.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke gives a 'thumbs-up' after speaking to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018.
Nick Ayers
Ayers announced that he would leave the White House at the end of 2018 where he served as the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. His resignation came as he declined Trump's offer to be his new chief of staff to replace John F. Kelly.
Vice President Mike Pence's Chief of Staff Nick Ayers arrives for a news conference with President Donald Trump and Republican congressmen after participating in a Congressional Republican Leadership Retreat at Camp David, Md, Saturday, Jan 6, 2018. A seasoned campaign veteran at age 36, Ayers had emerged as a leading contender to replace White House chief of staff John Kelly.
John F. Kelly
A retired US Marine Corps general, Kelly was selected as the first Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration on January 20, 2017. Then, he had served as chief of staff in Trump’s White House from July 2017 to January 2019. He was also forced to resign from his post by Trump.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly attends a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House in Washington, U., June 26, 2018.
Jeff Sessions
Became attorney general of the United States on February 8, 2017. After a turbulent tenure and tense relations with Trump over Special Counsel Mueller’s Russian probe, he was forced to resign by Trump on November 7, 2018.
Immediately after the US midterms, the tense relationship between US President Donald Trump and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions ended. Trump has never forgiven Sessions because of his recusal from the Mueller investigation. Trump congratulates Sessions after he was sworn in on February 9, 2017.
Nikki Haley
Served as the United States ambassador to the United Nations since January 25, 2017. She resigned on October 9, 2018 and left her post at the end of 2018.
US President Donald Trump meets with UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Oval Office of the White House after it was announced the president had accepted the Haley's resignation in Washington, US, October 9, 2018.
Scott Pruitt
Sworn in as Environmental Protection Agency administrator on February 17, 2017. He stepped down on July 5, 2018.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt reacts while testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies on budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 16, 2018.
Herbert Raymond McMaster
Assumed post of national security adviser of the US on February 20, 2017. He was fired by President Trump on March 22, 2018.
US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster talks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 17, 2018
Gary Cohn
Served as chief economic adviser to the US president from January 20, 2017 until he resigned from the post on March 6, 2018.
In this file photo taken on September 28, 2017 National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn waits to speak about tax reform during a briefing at the White House in Washington, DC.
Hope Hicks
Became White House Communications director on the same day Trump assumed office on January 20, 2017. She resigned on February 28, 2018.
US President Donald Trump and former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks outside the Oval Office in Washington D.C., US, March 29, 2018.
David Shulkin
Served as Veterans Affairs secretary from January 20, 2017 till the day he was fired on March 28, 2018.
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin speaks at a news conference in Washington on March 7, 2018.
Rex W Tillerson
Became the US Secretary of State on February 1, 2017. He was fired on March 13, 2018.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks to the media at the US State Department after being fired by President Donald Trump in Washington, US March 13, 2018.
Omarosa Manigault Newman
Became assistant to the president and director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison on January 20, 2017. She resigned on December 13, 2017.
White House Director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison Omarosa Manigault, right, walks past President Donald Trump during a meeting on healthcare in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on March 12 2017.
Tom Price
Served as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services since February 10, 2017. He resigned on September 29, 2017.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price speaks during a listening session in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, June 21, 2017, in Washington.
Sebastian Gorka
Became White House deputy assistant on January 24, 2017. He resigned on August 25, 2017.
Former deputy assistant to the U.S. president, Sebastian Gorka, delivers remarks during the Value Voters Summit at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, US, October 14.
Steve Bannon
Bannon, a controversial figure having ties with supremacist groups, became White House Chief Strategist on January 20, 2017. He was fired on August 18, 2017.
"Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind," Trump said.
Anthony Scaramucci
Served as White House Communications Director for 10 days between July 21, 2017 and July 31, 2017. He was fired.
Anthony Scaramucci, White House communications director, points as he arrives during a press briefing at the White House, July 21, 2017.
Reince Priebus
Became White House Chief of Staff on January 20, 2017. He was fired on July 28, 2017.
In June 5, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump's then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus attends an Air Traffic Control Reform Initiative event in the East Room at the White House, in Washington.
Sean Spicer
Served as White House Press Secretary from January 20, 2017 till the day he resigned on July 21, 2017.
Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer participates in the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: A World of Change at The TimesCenter on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, in New York.
James Comey
Only Obama-era appointee on this list who served as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since 2013. He was fired by Trump on May 9, 2017.
Former FBI Director James Comey speaks to the media after giving a private deposition to the House Judiciary and House Government and Oversight committees on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 7, 2018.
Michael Flynn
Served as United States National Security advisor from January 20, 2017 till February 13, 2017. He was also fired.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn arrives for his sentencing hearing at US District Court in Washington, US on December 18, 2018.
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