NBC anchor Chuck Todd on Friday scrutinized the Trump administration over its increasing number of top department vacancies, saying it has resulted in a “carousel of chaos.”
“You may ask yourself: Is this any way to run the government, and what happens if there’s a crisis?” Todd asked during NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Funny you should ask, because there is a humanitarian crisis at the border, and the administration’s leadership team in charge of handling it has been decimated in a carousel of chaos.”{mosads}
Todd’s comments come after Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta announced Friday he would be stepping down from President Trump’s Cabinet in the wake of swirling controversy over his role in securing a 2008 plea deal for billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“Folks, if you can believe it, when Acosta leaves next week, there will be at least 20 top positions in this administration that are being led by an ‘acting’ chief or no one at all,” Todd noted.
Also on Friday, reports emerged that Trump is again considering the possible removal of Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
“We got an acting Labor secretary, an acting Defense secretary –– actually, we’ve had two acting Defense secretaries since the [James] Mattis resignation,” Todd continued as the network showed a scrolling list of departed administration officials. “I can’t even say the names fast enough.”
As the Trump administration comes under increased scrutiny for its hard-line immigration policies and the conditions of migrant detention facilities — which are reported to be unsanitary and lacking resources — Todd noted that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen left her Cabinet post earlier this year.
Her replacement was Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of U.S. Customs of Border Protection, leaving acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Mark Morgan to become McAleenan’s replacement.
Todd knocked the string of replacements, saying: “You may wonder: Is that a way to run the border amidst a migrant crisis?”
Eight Cabinet secretaries, as well as several other officials, have departed the administration since Trump took office.