President Trump pauses during a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the East Room of the White House. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo) Three weeks into Donald Trump's presidency, the administration appears to be dripping with leaks about the governing and management challenges it faces. Last week, the New York Times reported on efforts to rethink the administration's policy and communications operation after leaks about how details of executive orders were withheld from agencies; it included embarrassing details such as the inability of staffers to find the light switches in White House rooms. A Washington Post story last weekend reported how Trump was taking "steps to try to present a new sense of competence," trying to clarify the chain of command and present a sense of order after a series of missteps, including the chaotic rollout of his travel ban and a contentious phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. While there have been successes, such as the introduction of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, "nevertheless, the administration remains dogged by slip-ups, half-truths and bombshells, some of them set off by the president himself," The Post's Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker reported. And then on Friday, Politico reported that Trump was feeling vexed by the scale and challenges of managing the federal government, beginning the story with a cutting line for the president, who vowed to bring a businessman's sensibilities to Washington. "Being president is harder than Donald Trump thought," wrote Alex Isenstadt, Kenneth Vogel and Josh Dawsey, citing unnamed aides and allies. Their interviews "paint a picture of a powder-keg of a workplace where job duties are unclear, morale among some is low, factionalism is rampant and exhaustion is running high," they wrote, noting Trump's efforts to tamp down on leaks, the confusing job portfolios of some aides and talk about staff shake-ups. The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a restraining order on the travel ban didn't improve the impression of a chaotic executive office after an initial indication that the White House would not ask the Supreme Court to overturn the order prompted scrambling by chief of staff Reince Priebus to clarify the administration's position. According to the Associated Press, Priebus said "every single court option is on the table," including a high court appeal or fighting the case in lower courts; Trump also said Friday he is considering writing a new order. |
