Trump’s cabinet has lost four members in 2026, two of them fired outright, after a first year in which every cabinet secretary stayed put. Below the cabinet, the exits have been even faster, including a White House press secretary who was out after five days this month.
Here is every cabinet departure of Trump’s second term, plus the biggest exits just below cabinet level.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security: Fired
Kristi Noem was the first cabinet secretary to go. Trump removed her on March 5, 2026, the same week she gave a rough performance in front of Congress. Lawmakers grilled her over her department’s spending on a television ad campaign that featured her, her use of private jets, and her relationship with Corey Lewandowski, a top adviser at the department. Noem told senators that Trump knew about the ad campaign ahead of time. Trump denied it.
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Her time at Homeland Security was also marked by immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, where two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents and a five year old boy was detained. Trump moved Noem to the State Department as special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a new Western Hemisphere security initiative. That role ended after six months, and she now works as a senior adviser at the State Department.
Replaced by: Markwayne Mullin, then a Republican senator from Oklahoma, confirmed 54 to 45.
Pam Bondi, Attorney General: Fired
Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026. Publicly, he said she was moving to a job in the private sector. Bondi had faced months of criticism from both parties over how the Justice Department handled the files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Reports at the time said Trump’s own frustration was different: he felt the department was not moving aggressively enough to prosecute his political opponents.
Replaced by: Todd Blanche, her deputy, who ran the department on an acting basis before the Senate confirmed him 50 to 49 in August.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary of Labor: Pushed Out
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned on April 20, 2026, while she was under investigation over misconduct allegations. She said she was leaving for the private sector. Some outlets count her as fired, since she left under pressure less than three weeks after Bondi.
Replaced by: Keith Sonderling, her deputy, confirmed 47 to 41 and sworn in October 2.
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence: Resigned
Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation on May 22, 2026, citing her husband’s cancer diagnosis, and left the job in June. The director of national intelligence oversees all 18 U.S. spy agencies and is a cabinet level post.
Replaced by: Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, confirmed 51 to 47.
The Biggest Exits Below the Cabinet
Katie Zacharia, White House press secretary, was fired in October 2026 after five days on the job. Her exit followed questions about her legal credentials and a rough first press briefing, which turned out to be her only one. She had replaced Karoline Leavitt, who left at the end of August.
Corey Lewandowski, the senior Homeland Security adviser at the center of the Noem hearings, was also fired.
Daniel Driscoll, the secretary of the Army, resigned in August 2026 after reportedly confronting Trump over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s firings of top generals.
Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, resigned in May 2026, reportedly over Trump’s push to allow fruit flavored vapes for adults.
Earlier in the term, Trump fired Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just weeks after the Senate confirmed her, removed acting FEMA head Cameron Hamilton after he told Congress he did not support dismantling the agency, and replaced national security adviser Mike Waltz, putting Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the job on an interim basis.
