The disappearing women of the Trump administration
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(Clockwise from top left) US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle; attorney-general Pam Bondi; labour secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer; former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt; Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem; and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.
PHOTOS: TIERNEY L. CROSS/NYTIMES, KENNY HOLSTON/NYTIMES, HAIYUN JIANG/NYTIMES, SHELBY TAUBER/NYTIMES, ERIC LEE/NYTIMES
Erica L. Green
- Trump’s second term has seen an unusual pattern: most high-profile departures from his administration in 2025 have been women, including four Cabinet-level officials in spring.
- Kimberly Guilfoyle was forced out after reports she asked a donor to pay a US$100,000 bill; Trump said she “was doing a good job” but “didn’t like what I read”.
- Critics called the pattern a double standard, while the White House said Trump chooses people on “merit and qualifications”, not “immutable characteristics”.
AI generated
WASHINGTON – The ouster of Kimberly Guilfoyle, who until this week was the US ambassador to Greece, was surprising in its particulars. It was announced on live TV, during the first-ever briefing by the new White House press secretary.
But Guilfoyle’s forced resignation also was part of a larger pattern in President Donald Trump’s second term: The prominent figures who have departed the administration, either voluntarily or involuntarily, overwhelmingly are women.