President Donald Trump may be preparing to clean house in 2026, starting with three major Cabinet officials.
That's according to a Monday article in the Daily Beast, which reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel are apparently "on borrowed time." The Beast reported that Trump could be waiting until the one-year anniversary of his second inauguration — which would be January 20, 2026 — before making any big changes atop federal agencies. However, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson adamantly denied that any Cabinet secretaries were in danger of being fired.
“President Trump has assembled the most talented and capable Cabinet in American history,” Jackson told the Beast. “These so-called reports are nothing but Fake News.”
Noem is reportedly in the hot seat over her employment of former Trump 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. According to The Bulwark, Lewandowski has taken on an "outsized" role at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with Noem reportedly giving him influential decision-making authority within the agency. Both Noem and Lewandowski have denied the reporting about his work within DHS.
Hegseth could also get a pink slip next year due to the ongoing fallout over his involvement in a deadly September 2, 2025 boat strike in the Caribbean Sea. The Washington Post reported initially that Hegseth ordered commanders of the mission to "kill everybody" after two survivors were seen clinging to wreckage of their destroyed vessel, though Hegseth denied ever making such an order and deferred to Admiral Frank M. Bradley, who was overseeing the operation.
The embattled defense secretary also had one of his earlier scandals resurface, when the Pentagon's Office of the Inspector General found that Hegseth put U.S. troops in danger by sharing sensitive details about Yemeni airstrikes in a group text thread on the Signal app. The scandal came to light when Hegseth accidentally texted war plans to Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Patel's firing could come about as a result of reportedly using FBI resources to accommodate his girlfriend – 27 year-old country singer Alexis Wilkins — and even ordering agents serving as Wilkins' personal security detail to give one of her friends a ride home after a night of drinking. The FBI chief has also been heavily criticized by Democratic members of Congress for using the official FBI jet for personal trips, like date nights with Wilkins.
Click here to read the Beast's report in its entirety (subscription required).