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Record departures in 18 months
A new bipartisan analysis by the Partnership for Public Service says 27 Senate-confirmed officials have left Cabinet-level departments during the first 18 months of President Donald Trump’s second term, a pace the report says is nearly two and a half times the number who departed during the same period of his first administration.
“More Senate-confirmed officials have left President Donald Trump’s second administration in its first 18 months than they have during the same period in other 21st century administrations, according to a nonpartisan organization’s review of the turnover published Wednesday”
The analysis also found that many of those officials waited an average of nearly five months to be confirmed and then remained in office for about eight months before leaving.
The departures have included three Cabinet secretaries and the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and IRS, according to the Partnership for Public Service.
The Partnership for Public Service review also says Trump has submitted 578 nominations for Senate-confirmed positions, 91 fewer than the modern presidential average dating back to President Ronald Reagan.
White House pushes back
In response to the analysis, White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said, "The president and his entire administration will continue to tirelessly implement the Trump agenda and achieve tremendous results for the American people."
The Partnership for Public Service’s Chris Piper warned that the scale of departures could hurt congressional input, writing, "Each seat left to an acting official is one the president can fill on his own terms without the Senate’s advice and consent."
CNN’s review of the Partnership for Public Service analysis reported that the departures impacted 13 departments and included three Cabinet secretaries: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
CNN also said the review found the administration is slow to fill vacancies, with Trump sending fewer nominations to the Senate than even his first term.
Acting officials and vacancies
The Partnership for Public Service analysis says the departures are not being replaced, with Trump making fewer nominations to Senate-confirmed posts than any president since Ronald Reagan.
“The Trump administration is facing a spike in departures of powerful Cabinet department officials compared with his first term, according to the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service”
The Partnership for Public Service review argues that turnover on this scale concentrates power in the president because more leadership is filled by officials installed without the Senate’s advice and consent.
The Independent reported that at least 27 officials in Senate-confirmed Cabinet department positions had left their jobs by July 20, 2026, and said the data did not include departures of Senate-confirmed officials nominated under a different administration.
NBC News reported that the data analyzed by the Partnership for Public Service did not include departures of Senate-confirmed Cabinet department officials who were nominated under different administrations, nor did it include U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals or ambassadors.
