Trump Abruptly Dismisses Senior Officials 'Purge Begins'... Exercising Personnel Power Amid Election Defeat

Donald Trump, President of the United States, held a press conference at the White House in Washington DC on the 5th (local time) and spoke about the results of the November 3 presidential election count. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] As Donald Trump, the U.S. president, who is almost certain to lose the presidential election, declared that he would not accept the election results, he abruptly dismissed a senior official of a public institution.

According to CNN, on the 6th (local time), the White House suddenly dismissed Bonnie Glick, Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and appointed John Barsa as Acting Deputy Administrator. Although Barsa's acting term was set to expire that day by law, he will continue to lead USAID due to Trump's appointment of him as Acting Deputy Administrator.

Deputy Administrator Glick was notified around 2:45 p.m. that day to resign by 5 p.m. the same day. When Glick refused, she was immediately ordered to leave. The specific reason for the dismissal was not disclosed.

CNN cited sources pointing out that Glick's dismissal could disrupt the transition between the Trump administration and the Joe Biden administration.

According to Bloomberg News, on the same day, the White House also demoted Neil Chatterjee, chairman of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the nation's top energy regulatory authority, and appointed fellow commissioner James Danly as chairman.

Chairman Chatterjee was selected after catching the eye of Trump during his time as energy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is considered a Trump ally. However, recently, he shifted toward embracing decarbonization policies, which conflicted with the fossil fuel-friendly policy stance of the Trump administration.

Chairman Chatterjee said, "I don't know why I was demoted," and added, "If it was because of recent policies, I think it was worth it."

The day before, the U.S. political news outlet Politico reported that President Trump had devised a strategy to actively use the powers of the sitting president, including personnel and administrative authority within the White House, to contest the election results.

Politico also claimed that some top aides who had clashed with President Trump, such as Christopher Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense, might be dismissed.

The Washington Post described Glick's dismissal as "the beginning of a purge after the election," expressing concern that it signals Trump's move to oust those he perceives as lacking loyalty.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.