No final decisions have been made on Chavez-DeRemer and Lutnick — and Trump has contemplated firing people and then backed off before.
Should Trump proceed with a larger set of Cabinet changes, it could represent a major attempted reset for an administration confronting an ominous political landscape.
The potential high-level shuffling, a second, senior official said, is focused on Cabinet officials Trump feels have “underperformed or who have generated too much negative attention.”
In a statement, Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said Chavez-DeRemer and Lutnick are “both doing a great job standing up for American workers, and they continue to have President Trump’s full support.”
A third White House official reached out to POLITICO on behalf of Lutnick saying they hadn’t heard anyone suggest changes at the Commerce Department. “Everyone is thrilled with the job Howard has done — on trade deals, pharmaceuticals, Japan, tariffs, all of it….He’s also taken a hard line on Canada from day one, which POTUS appreciates.”
But the second White House official said that Lutnick is on “thin ice.” However, that official cautioned the president has “pondered and moved off” the idea of removing him before and has yet to go through with it.