CABINET/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump may be relishing the chance to shake up his administration. But the Senate is threatening to upend his plans. After using Twitter to abruptly oust his secretaries of state and veterans affairs and promote his CIA chief, the president is counting on the Senate GOP’s slim majority to confirm three new Cabinet members in the coming months — and potentially more, should his EPA administrator succumb to a torrent of withering headlines. Republicans aren’t pleased…The White House could soon cause even more trouble for the GOP: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing daily news reports chronicling a sweetheart deal on Capitol Hill lodging, which follows scrutiny of his first-class travel arrangements. The White House has considered firing Pruitt, which would give the GOP yet another Cabinet-level seat to fill. It’s an unwelcome challenge for the White House and Republican lawmakers, who now face the prospect of multiple confirmation hearings in a matter of months. And unlike at the beginning of a new administration when a large transition team labors over each high-profile nomination, a spate of Cabinet-level confirmations this spring threatens to swamp an understaffed White House Office of Presidential Personnel.”
-Burgess Everett and Eliana Johnson, “Trump’s chaotic Cabinet shuffle tries GOP patience,” Politico, April 4, 2018 4:59 am