Reviewing the continuing chaos in the Trump administration -- where seemingly every cabinet official has their head on President Donald Trump's chopping block -- a CNN analyst attempted to predict who would be the next to be shown the door -- with Veterans Administration Secretary David Shulkin leading the field.
According to host Chris Cuomo, "They were supposed to be the best cabinet ever assembled-- and they're not. That is the estimate of President Trump himself who is eyeing a purge of his embattled cabinet. The president wants to get rid of the, quote, 'deadweight'."
"So let's take a look of what could be called some of the deadweight," Cuomo continued before introducing political analyst Mark Preston with his March Madness-styled "deadweight bracketology."
With Cuomo noting the list did not include Chief of Staff John Kelly or any of the "security guys," the CNN host added, "we don't have McMaster here. Mattis hasn't been discussed and they are important people, a different part of the analysis. Let's start with the least likely to go in this estimation. Of these people who is least likely?"
"Anything we say could change in a matter of seconds if President Trump is watching and tweet out that he has since fired somebody," Preston began. "Let's look at the Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. "
"She ran into a lot of trouble this week, didn't quite understand that she needed to go out and look at low performing schools to understand how our education system works, and we haven't seen a whole lot of her publicly, that is the reason why," Preston admitted.
Preston went on to note that EPA administrator Scott Pruitt deserves consideration for possibly being dumped, stating, " He has the paranoia vibe -- making sure people aren't spying on him and spending all the money," including $43,000 for a soundproof booth.
With both HUD Secretary Ben Carson and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke also under intense scrutiny over their spending habits, Preston said the departure list is likely headed by Shulkin, despite the fact that he "has the best reputation within his own agency."
"There are two things this guy has going for him could make hum the easiest to get rid of for the president," Cuomo prompted.
"The fact of the matter is he is supposed to take care of our veterans," Preston explained while showing a graphic describing the Washington D.C. VA hospital as "too dirty to keep medical devices in."
"How do you explain this?" Preston asked. "They are paying for them to go to Wimbledon? He is the VA secretary! Last I knew he was not in charge of the State Department or diplomacy."
Having said this, I do know when he was under consideration for this job, Trump didn't necessarily take a liking to him right away. He [Trump] had to be convinced by those within the military circles to keep him on. As you and I spoke beforehand, he is also an Obama guy an Obama-era holdover, and that gives the president great political cover, saying our veterans deserve the best."
"If someone has to go, he's in bad shape, and the irony is that the people in his agency like him and think he does a good job," he concluded.
You can watch the video below via CNN:
