Trump’s own psyche in flux: Sources close to the president genuinely fear special counsel Robert Mueller has passed a “breaking point” for Trump. More than one person has used that phrase to us. They worry the president will fire Mueller. A former senior White House official said to me: “I just hope [inside lawyer] Ty [Cobb] and [White House counsel] Don [McGahn] can talk him down.”
But in the next sentence, this former official sighed and acknowledged how much Trump finds McGahn irritating and has turned against him.
Personnel in flux: A number of senior staff are leaving or planning to leave. Larry Kudlow will likely lose a good deal of talent he wants to keep at the National Economic Council — with Shahira Knight, the tax expert who was the star of Gary Cohn’s staff, at the top of the list. John Bolton has taken charge of the National Security Council, and will be installing his own people. Yesterday, homeland security adviser Tom Bossert resigned (though the White House has not pushed back on the suggestion he was pushed out.) On Sunday, it was NSC spokesman (and early Trump supporter) Michael Anton. Lists of additional “targets” are circulating among Bolton’s allies.
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