White House Deputy National Security Adviser Andy Baker, 46, resigned on Friday, August 14, 2026, becoming the second major Trump administration figure to announce an exit in less than a week. Baker’s decision comes as staffing turnover continues to accelerate within President Donald Trump’s inner circle, with no indication the pattern will stop.
Earlier in the week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had announced her own resignation, set to take effect at the end of August 2026. The 28-year-old said she needed to spend more time with her two children. Leavitt had just returned from maternity leave in July after giving birth to her second child, Viviana, in May 2026.
Trump posted about Leavitt’s departure on Truth Social on Wednesday, calling her “one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office.” Political analysts and public relations experts believe the 80-year-old president was caught off guard and “genuinely surprised” by the announcement. Leavitt explained that she could no longer “be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary.”
Attorney Alina Habba has emerged as a rumored frontrunner to replace Leavitt, with prediction market Kalshi assigning her a 39% chance of getting the job. Trump spent the weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey estate, where Habba was among the guests. Natalie Harp is also being floated as a possible candidate, though Kalshi gives her only a 5% chance.
Consequential Role Behind the Scenes
Though Baker maintained a deliberately low public profile, he had “emerged as a key figure” within Vice President JD Vance’s orbit, playing an outsize role in national security policy. His influence extended to some of the administration’s most critical decisions. He accompanied Vice President Vance to the Munich Security Conference in February 2026 and was in the Situation Room during the June 2025 bombing of Iranian enrichment sites. Baker also took part directly in negotiations over the Ukraine conflict, working with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Someone close to Baker revealed he had postponed leaving by several months to allow for an orderly transition to his successors. Cliff Sims, who became Vice President Vance’s national security adviser earlier this summer, will continue in that position, while Mike Needham will keep serving as White House deputy national security adviser. Baker plans to move into the private sector, joining Robert O’Brien, who was President Trump’s fourth national security adviser during his first term.
Baker expressed pride in what the administration had achieved and thanked the president, vice president, and Secretary Rubio for the chance to serve. Senior officials quickly offered tributes. Vice President Vance described Baker as “an exceptionally gifted, deeply thoughtful advisor” who had served “with distinction” and called him “an indispensable member” of the national security team. Rubio, the secretary of state, called Baker “an invaluable asset” who “greatly advanced the America First agenda,” while Needham called him “a brilliant foreign policy mind and close friend” and Witkoff said Baker had “worked tirelessly to put America first and get deals done for the President around the world.”
Broader Wave of Exits
The twin departures of Baker and Leavitt represent only the most recent chapter in a steady exodus from the Trump White House that has touched multiple departments. Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson, 29, left her $121,500-a-year position in late July 2026, with Aug. 7 as her last day. Jackson moved to political strategy firm OnMessage Public Strategies after joining the White House press team in March 2025 from her previous position handling communications for Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller praised Jackson as “a communications powerhouse, demonstrating at all times the highest degree of tenacity, integrity, professionalism and talent.”
White House Director of Cabinet Affairs Lea Bardon left in April 2026, taking a position as executive vice president with The Sovereign Advisors, a public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. Bardon had played a pivotal role in the administration’s public messaging, managing communications, Cabinet affairs, and speechwriting. Shortly after Bardon’s departure, Sonny Joy Nelson, a special assistant to Trump serving as director of media affairs who had worked on his communications team since his 2024 presidential campaign and in various roles since 2020, resigned and launched Cornerstone Strategics, a firm focused on media booking and communications consulting. Alex Pfeiffer, a senior communications staffer, had departed in September 2025 after approximately nine months.
The succession of resignations has raised questions about staffing stability as the administration heads into what is expected to be a challenging midterm election cycle.
