White House shake-up feared, official claims, as Republicans call on Trump to change course

A senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity says staffers there are bracing for a shake-up in the wake of Republican losses in the midterm election. 

Big picture view:

The official told Reuters Wednesday that senior aides were getting prepared for staff departures, possible Cabinet changes and the possibility that Democrats will launch criminal investigations when they take office in January. 

"It absolutely sucks to be here right now," the official said. "Morale is as low as ‌it can ⁠get."

The staffer also claimed internal polling painted a picture of possible Republican losses that the president ignored, refusing to change course on Iran. 

"Ultimately, he just didn't care," the official said. "He refused to listen to anyone."

Some in GOP call for change in direction

Trump is facing pressure from Republican allies and strategists who called for a change to his personnel, the restoration of discipline and the scrapping of policies they say caused GOP losses on Tuesday. Those targets include the war in Iran and tariffs. 

What they're saying:

Veteran Republican strategist John Feehery characterized the election results to Reuters as a "huge disaster" for Trump.

"He needs to clean house," Feehery said. "Every day from this point forward, he's becoming more and more lame."

Dig deeper:

Trump met with reporters Wednesday to show off progress on the new White House ballroom. He defended the amount of time that the project has taken, adding, "for me, it’s relaxing." 

Reuters previously reported that the Trump administration spent months preparing an array of executive actions on multiple fronts, among them tariffs, immigration, federal spending and housing. Those actions could allow Trump to advance portions of his agenda even as Democrats oppose the plans.

But executive actions couldn’t shield his administration from congressional probes if Democrats launch them. 

Battle of wills showing among Democrats

There appears to be early disagreement on the left in the hours after the election about the nature and complexity of such plans. Earlier on Wednesday, New York Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, received progressive criticism after saying Democrats should focus on lowering costs following their midterm victories instead of getting "even" with the Trump administration.

"The American people don't want us to get even; they want us to get things done on their behalf because life is way too expensive," Jeffries said on MS NOW's "Morning Joe." "We ran on affordability. We won on affordability, and now it's our job to govern on affordability."

The other side:

Trump has shown little indication that he believes the election’s outcome is a signal that he should change direction.

"I don’t view it as a hit on me," he told FOX News on Tuesday. 

But asked about the election’s outcome at the ballroom construction site, Trump said he agreed with Vice President JD Vance’s assessment that the Iran war cost Republicans the election. 

"I think it's largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term and probably that's, probably it's true," Trump said. "But at the same time, if I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again, because long term, it's the only answer. You can't let Iran have a nuclear war."

The president also said he felt the tradeoff was worth it.

"You have no choice. I mean, I thought the oil would go up a lot more, and I did it on that basis. You have no choice. You have to do it. You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon or everything that you see here someday might not exist."

He also downplayed the likelihood that Democrats would move to impeach him or members of his Cabinet.

"I think it would destroy the Democrat Party if they did it. Because impeachment for no reason. What? For having a successful country? Our country is more successful now than in any time in its history," he said.

 

 

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