President Donald Trump said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” recorded Friday and set to air Sunday evening that he plans to make changes at the top of his administration following the Republican loss in last week’s midterm elections. When asked if he would fire senior officials after losing control of both houses of Congress, the president answered affirmatively, but clarified that he still has confidence in his cabinet members. Hours after the interview, Trump announced the replacement of his White House chief of staff—a move that illustrated the changes he discussed were already underway.
2+In the interview with CBS correspondent Ross Douthat, Trump was asked directly whether he planned to fire members of his administration following the election defeat, in which Republicans lost control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. “Yes, a little,” the president replied, adding: “I love my cabinet. I think they’re good, but maybe I’ll make some changes.”
One of the central questions raised in the interview concerned the future of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. According to a CBS report, Trump has asked his advisers in recent days whether Hegseth should continue in his role, against the backdrop of the election results and criticism of the administration. But when asked if he still has confidence in the defense secretary, the president replied: “Yes.” Trump went on to present what he sees as his administration’s military achievements: “Look, we won two wars. We won in Venezuela and we’ve already taken billions upon billions of dollars. We’re going to take many more billions and we’ll do very well.”
2+He continued by addressing Venezuela’s status, saying: “You can call it a territory, you can call it whatever you want. We won that war in less than an hour.” The president presented these statements as proof of his military successes, but did not explicitly commit that Hegseth would remain in his position throughout the entire term.
Hours after the interview was recorded, the president announced the replacement of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller, who had served until now as deputy chief of staff and one of his closest advisers. Wiles submitted her resignation Thursday, and according to sources who spoke with CBS, her departure was connected to the Republican loss in the midterm elections. After announcing the personnel change Friday, Trump was asked why he decided to make the switch and replied: “I wanted to make a change.” He added that Wiles had done a good job, but sometimes in life you need to make moves.
2+The interview remarks raise questions about the continued tenure of other senior administration officials, especially after Trump avoided naming who might be replaced. Over the past year, several prominent cabinet members have already left the administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. However, most of the president’s senior staff has remained in their positions so far.