Trump had vented about Mulvaney being out of town during the coronavirus crisis, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.

One White House official said the president used Mulvaney’s absence to pull the trigger on a change he had long been contemplating but had resisted.

“Anybody who knows Donald Trump knows that if you’re on a slippery slope you shouldn’t leave town,” said a source familiar with the situation.

But one senior White House official disputed any connection between the timing and coronavirus.