WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is actively weighing a broader reshuffle of his Cabinet following the removal this week of Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to five people familiar with internal White House discussions. The deliberations come as the administration grapples with political blowback from a war with Iran that began on February 28 and entered its fifth week this month.
Those briefed on the matter told Reuters that the president's growing frustration with how the conflict has affected domestic politics - including higher gasoline prices and declining approval ratings - has driven conversations about personnel changes at senior levels. Any reordering of senior staff, the sources said, could function as a reset for the White House as it seeks to manage a politically difficult stretch that extends through November's midterm elections.
Multiple aides and allies described Wednesday's televised address to the nation as an attempt to convey control and confidence about the conduct of the war. But several inside the administration said the speech did not achieve that aim and left some supporters and advisers calling for changes to messaging or personnel.
"A shake-up to show action is not a bad thing, is it?" a White House official asked, reflecting a view among some aides that visible changes could signal responsiveness.
Three White House officials and two other sources with knowledge of administration dynamics spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. Those sources cautioned that there is not yet a single, definitive list of officials certain to be dismissed. Still, they said multiple cabinet members are seen as vulnerable to displacement.
Among those named by several sources as potentially at risk are Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Both were mentioned as possible targets for removal after Trump recently removed Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
According to one senior White House official, the president has expressed displeasure with Gabbard in recent months. Another source with direct knowledge of the discussions said Trump has asked allies informally about potential replacements for the intelligence chief.
Lutnick, a close personal friend of the president, has drawn private calls for removal from prominent Trump backers who have raised concerns about his public profile and past associations. Earlier this year newly released records showed Lutnick had lunch with Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein's private Caribbean island in 2012. Lutnick has said he "barely had anything to do with" Epstein and that the lunch occurred because he was on a boat in the vicinity.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle responded to questions by saying the president retains "total confidence" in both Gabbard and Lutnick. Ingle's emailed comments highlighted the administration's stated achievements, praising Gabbard for a role in "ending the Maduro narcoterror regime" and noting Lutnick's part in "securing major trade and investment deals." A separate post by the White House on social media quoted White House communications director Steve Cheung as saying Trump has "total confidence" in Gabbard. The Commerce Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Despite public assurances of confidence, the administration faces difficult choices about whether to act on calls for further change. Some in Trump's circle counsel caution against frequent overhauls of the Cabinet, noting that repeated staffing changes during his first term created an impression of turmoil. One White House official described likely moves as a "targeted churn" rather than a sweeping, dramatic reset.
Yet officials acknowledge that failing to respond to the political fallout could itself be risky. One adviser argued that doing nothing after a speech that underperformed might be as politically costly as making a conspicuous personnel move that would dominate headlines.
According to the sources, aides worked with the president on this week's prime-time address after urging him for weeks to speak directly to the nation about the U.S. role in the conflict. In the speech, the president did not offer a clear exit strategy for the military engagement that began on February 28, leaving an impression among some observers that the confrontation could be open-ended. Rather than provide specific measures to ease voters' economic concerns, the president said the economic pain would be short-lived and placed responsibility for the situation on Tehran.
"The speech did not accomplish what it was supposed to," one official said, noting that while Trump's base continues to back him on the decision to use force, those voters are feeling acute economic pressure.
"Voters tolerate ideological messaging, but they feel fuel prices immediately," the official added, capturing a sentiment among aides worried about the economic implications of the conflict on voter behavior.
Public opinion metrics in recent polling underscore the political challenge. In the latest Reuters/Ipsos survey, just 36% of Americans approved of the president's overall job performance, the lowest figure of his current term, according to administration sources. The war with Iran is broadly unpopular in the survey, with 60% of respondents disapproving of the U.S.-Israeli decision to initiate the conflict.
Two White House officials said the president is increasingly frustrated with what he sees as negative media coverage of the war and has told his team he wants more positive accounts. Those sources added that Trump has not signaled an intention to alter his own messaging approach.
Even so, several cabinet members have demonstrated resilience despite attracting negative headlines or drawing concern inside the White House. Some external allies have lobbied for Lutnick's removal since April of last year, when he announced a set of global tariffs that puzzled both foreign partners and policy experts during what aides referred to as "Liberation Day." Gabbard, known for her criticism of U.S. military intervention abroad, upset the White House as early as last June after releasing a video that denounced "political elite warmongers" ahead of the administration's first military action against Iran.
Notwithstanding the public expressions of confidence and the staying power of some officials, the sources said the prospect of additional changes has become markedly more serious in recent weeks. One senior White House source said the president wants to implement any significant replacements well in advance of the midterm elections in November.
"Let’s just say, based on what I have heard, Bondi is not the last one," another White House official said, signaling that further personnel movement remains a live possibility.
The administration is weighing whether to pursue a modest, targeted set of changes designed to demonstrate responsiveness, or to maintain the current senior team and absorb the political costs. For now, those deliberations continue behind closed doors, with the final decision likely to reflect a balance between internal counsel, public reaction to the war with Iran, and calculations about the political terrain ahead of the midterms.
Source notes: Multiple White House officials and other sources speaking on condition of anonymity provided details about internal discussions regarding potential cabinet changes. Public statements from the White House included comments from spokesman Davis Ingle and a social media post quoting communications director Steve Cheung affirming the president's confidence in specific aides.