After a wave of high-profile White House departures this summer, staffers who remained are reaching out to headhunters to discuss their next moves.
A fast-growing number of White House staffers are starting to look for the exits, even though the one-year mark of President Donald Trump’s first term is still months away.
Many who joined the administration in January did so with the explicit idea that they’d stay for at least a year, enough to credibly say they’d served. But in the aftermath of a wave of abrupt, high-profile departures over the summer that culminated with former strategist Steve Bannon’s ouster in August, aides up and down the chain are reaching out to headhunters, lobbyists, and GOP operatives for help finding their next job.
Staffers from the National Economic Council—where director Gary Cohn is expected to be on his way out altogether after tax reform or onto a different role—as well as the communications shop and beyond are quietly exploring their next moves. They’re talking to headhunters about positions as in-house government affairs experts at major companies, or as executives at trade associations, universities, or consulting firms – ironically, jobs that run counter to Trump’s “drain the swamp” mantra.
Political appointees want to leave for myriad reasons, according to recruiters, Republican operatives, and White House officials. Morale is low, the Russia investigations only seem to grow in scope, and constant churn at the top has left some staffers without patrons in a workplace known for back-biting and a tribal-like attitude.
“There will be an exodus from this administration in January,” said one Republican lobbyist, who alone has heard from five officials looking for new gigs. “Everyone says, ‘I just need to stay for one year.’ If you leave before a year, it looks like you are acknowledging that you made a mistake.”
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