I Alone Can Fix It

Trump remakes the cabinet in his own image, and gets the White House he really wants

- Toluse Olorunnipa and Nick Wadhams

In accepting the Republican nomination for president in 2016, Donald Trump described a nation plagued with problems and declared: “I alone can fix it.” More than a year and a half later, as the administration empties of some of his closest aides and top officials, he’s certainly more alone. Among the record number of departures are key moderates who were recruited to help guide an inexperienced commander-in-chief and temper his more controversial impulses. As they’re replaced with like-minded loyalists, Trump is finally getting what he may have wanted all along—a presidency of one.

The departure of White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, who resigned on March 6, and the ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson a week later make clear that the president is done with dissenting voices. Both are being replaced by men more aligned with Trump, at least stylistically. CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a conservative former congressman from Kansas, is likely to take over as America’s top diplomat, while Larry Kudlow, a former Wall Street economist and CNBC commentator, will replace Cohn as Trump’s top economic adviser. Pompeo shares many of Trump’s hawkish tendencies, particularly toward Iran. Kudlow, like Cohn, is a free trader, but he has more of a shoot-from-the-hip style and backed offfrom his criticism of steel and aluminum tariffs after Trump said he would exempt Canada, Mexico, and possibly others.

Aides anticipate more changes, including the potential departure of national security adviser H.R. McMaster. Chief of staffJohn Kelly has also had a rough month, damaged by his handling of the case of a key aide, Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary who resigned after accusations of spousal abuse. The purge will have long-lasting effects, fundamentally shifting U.S. diplomacy and economic strategy. And it marks an end to Trump’s attempt to build a cabinet of diverging opinions.