Health Secretary Alex M. Azar II was a newcomer in 2018, having been sworn into office just a day before President Trump addressed Congress for his State of the Union address.
If he looks around him this year, Mr. Azar will find nearly half of his Cabinet colleagues have changed — a very visual reminder of the turmoil that has plagued the Trump presidency.
The heads of three of the top four Cabinet posts from last year — the Justice, Defense and State departments — are gone, as is the president’s old chief of staff, and his secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Interior, his Central Intelligence Agency and Environmental Protection Agency chiefs, and his ambassador to the United Nations.
His budget chief is serving as his acting chief of staff, and someone else has been tasked with the budget duties.
“The state of the Trump administration is chaos,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer told reporters Tuesday, ahead of the speech. “We’ve had more Cabinet turnover than in 100 years, even Republicans are worried about that.”
Republicans say Mr. Schumer is partially responsible for the chaos. The president has made nominations for some of his Cabinet vacancies, but they have had a tough time clearing Capitol Hill.
His pick for attorney general, William P. Barr, is due for a first vote in committee later this week, and could see floor action next week, while EPA nominee Andrew Wheeler cleared his committee vote Tuesday.
And Mr. Trump this week named a pick to lead the Interior Department, saying David Bernhardt, the acting secretary, should get the job full time.
But the defense post is still without a permanent nominee, and the chief of staff situation — a post that doesn’t require Senate confirmation — remains convoluted.
New faces who did win confirmation over the last year are Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — who was at the last State of the Union, albeit serving as CIA director — and Gina Haspel, who took over as the spy master.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie is also new.
Analysts say the turmoil extends throughout the ranks, with hundreds of positions that require confirmation going unfilled.
The president says not having permanent people in positions gives him more flexibility, allowing him to move briskly on his agenda.
“It’s easier to make moves when they’re acting,” Mr. Trump told CBS.
He also said he had no qualms about nudging out Cabinet secretaries when the job “doesn’t get done” — such as former Defense Secretary James Mattis.
“He resigned because I asked him to resign,” Mr. Trump said.
In the last year, he also ousted former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, VA Secretary David Shulkin and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Former chief of staff John F. Kelly and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley were the only ones who appeared to leave generally on their own timetables.
Mr. Schumer said the problems extend beyond the Cabinet, to hundreds of unfilled positions across the government.
“And it’s an example, one of many, of the incompetence, the chaos in this administration,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Mr. Schumer is the cause of that chaos.
“We’ve got our hands full up here just getting the people he has nominated through,” he said.
He pointed to a slate of 150 executive branch positions he tried to get confirmed at the end of last year, but which met resistance from Democrats.
“There is time for obstruction. I’ve engaged in it myself,” Mr. McConnell said. “It depends on what you’re obstructing. If it’s something big and important, understandable. If you’re just trying to sand through sand in the gear so the administration can’t function, unacceptable.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.