Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney faced internal efforts to oust him before House Democrats moved ahead with their impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, multiple sources tell CNN.

Top aides including Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner were in the process of reaching out to at least two potential replacements for the top West Wing job shortly before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in late September that she would move ahead with an impeachment inquiry.

These previously unreported efforts did not come to fruition, but underscore the weakness of Mulvaney’s position even before his headline-generating performance in the briefing room last week. One person familiar with Mulvaney’s thinking said the search came as Mulvaney himself was looking for an exit after ten months in the role, though people close to Mulvaney have denied he wanted to leave.