An analyst Thursday predicted that President Donald Trump could cut three major Cabinet members in 2026.
Salon's Heather Digby Parton indicated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel are "rumored to be on the chopping block." But it won't be Trump who cuts them, instead, he will likely pass off the duty to someone else, according to the analyst.
Although Trump has not had a large amount of turnover in his second administration, as the one-year mark since his inauguration approaches, "rumblings of impending personnel changes are growing louder."
Most of his cabinet has stayed in their jobs by following the president's demands.
"There is no question in this administration what the requirements are: Tell Trump only what he wants to hear, slather him with praise at every opportunity and never, under any circumstances, disagree with anything he says," Digby Parton wrote.
So far, that approach has worked for them.
"The majority of Trump’s Cabinet officials and White House staff have survived quite well simply by willingly debasing themselves at every opportunity," Digby Parton wrote.
But that could be changing. It appears that Vice President JD Vance has lined up his college friend Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll to replace Hegseth when the time comes.
"Driscoll is now deeply involved in the Ukraine talks, and Hegseth is looking over his shoulder," Digby Parton added.
And although the White House has denied anyone in the administration will be fired, the signs have started to surface.
"But Trump is in trouble, and when he’s in trouble he lashes out and blames anyone but himself, so we can expect to see the ax fall on quite a few heads over the next few months. Trump, though, won’t be the one to wield it. He’s much too cowardly to ever say 'you’re fired!' to anyone’s face," Digby Parton wrote.
