On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump began his second term in office by sacking more than 1,000 presidential appointees from the previous administration with a call for greater alignment with his “Make America Great Again” vision. The policy started with four high-profile axings: retired General Mark Milley, chef and humanitarian José Andrés, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and former State Department official Brian Hook.
Mass sack of presidential appointees
He posted on his social media site, Truth Social, for all to know that, “Our first day in the White House isn’t even over yet! My Presidential Personnel Office is actively working to identify and remove more than one thousand Presidential Appointees of the prior Administration who don’t share our commitment to Make America Great Again!”
- General Mark Milley, Retired: The former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was removed from a position on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. His tenure had been marked by friction with President Trump, including criticism and talk of court-martial.
- José Andrés: The renowned chef and founder of World Central Kitchen was dismissed from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Andrés responded on X (formerly Twitter), stating that he had already submitted his resignation a week prior, as his term had concluded. Reflecting on his service, he expressed pride in the council’s accomplishments and urged the continuation of bipartisan support for health initiatives.
- Keisha Lance Bottoms: The former Mayor of Atlanta and former senior adviser was removed from the President’s Export Council. Bottoms had been a high-profile figure in national politics, including serving as a senior adviser on President Biden’s reelection campaign.
- Brian Hook: A former US Special Representative for Iran, Hook was terminated from his post at the Wilson Center. Under the first term of President Trump, Hook was an outspoken hardliner on Iran and supported the administration’s imposition of sanctions against Iran.
Reactions and implications
The sudden terminations have received mixed responses. “I’m proud of what we accomplished on behalf of the American people. like a historic partnership between the White House and every major sports league to increase access to sports and health programs for kids,” Andrés said. “And to the president, put politics and name calling aside. and instead lift up the everyday people working to bring America together.”
Keisha Lance Bottoms, in a response, drew attention to pressing global issues and hoped that President Trump’s “attention to detail will be much more keen when it comes to world affairs.”
More administrative actions
In addition to the personnel changes, President Trump signed several executive orders aimed at reshaping federal operations. Notably, he mandated that federal employees return to office settings five days a week, signaling a shift from remote work policies.
The President also announced a massive $500 billion in investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The project involves a new company, called Stargate, headed by the industry giants themselves, like Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison, with initial projects to be carried out in Texas.
