Troubles for D. Trump in his closest circle. April 2026

Forecast: "A Look into the Future from September 2025" (published on September 26, 2025, link)

As S. Dragina noted:

...It must be said that the spring of 2026, especially the beginning of April, has forced Trump to deeply and seriously reconsider his relationships with many people, his political views on partners...

"The beginning of April forced Trump to deeply and seriously reconsider his relationships with many people." There were more than enough reasons for this.

On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced the resignation of Attorney General and Solicitor General Pam Bondi. Acting head of the department became Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was once Trump's personal lawyer. "We love Pam, and she will move on to a new, very necessary and important job in the private sector, which we will announce soon," Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social.

As The New York Times reported, in the past few weeks, the president has been discussing the possibility of replacing Bondy with Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to The Atlantic, in addition to Blanche, who aims to get rid of the "acting" title, other contenders for the attorney general position include another former Trump lawyer, Alina Habba, Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jenning Pirro, and Senator Mike Lee from Utah.

The official reason for Bondy's resignation is not stated, but she has long been criticized for the Department of Justice's handling of the high-profile case of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who took his own life in 2019.

In particular, in February 2025, Bondy stated that she had a list of Epstein's clients. However, the 200 pages of materials from the case, published in the same month, did not contain the names of the men who received sexual services from minors facilitated by him, nor any new information. In July of that year, the Justice Department and the FBI jointly stated that no list was found, and most of the documents were not even made public in the course of Epstein's trial. Meanwhile, during Trump's final campaign rally, whom was linked to Epstein in the 2000s by friendly relations, promised to release all the case materials, but upon returning to the White House, he took a fundamentally different position and criticized his party members demanding the disclosure of the materials for falling for a Democratic trap.

The administration's refusal to publish the remaining documents only fueled public interest, and for conspiracy theory supporters, it became confirmation of the existence of a "deep state" in the US, covering pedophiles and other criminals from the American elite.

A turning point was the release on November 12 by the House Oversight Committee of a 20,000-page archive of Epstein's electronic communications. Trump's name appears in them at least 1,500 times, suggesting he may have known about Epstein's criminal activities. On November 18 and 19, the House and Senate voted to pass a bill requiring the US Department of Justice to fully release the late financier's case materials. On November 20, Trump signed the bill.

However, the Justice Department not only failed to publish all the documents within the prescribed 30-day deadline, but also, in the opinion of Congress, hid the names of potential accomplices in Epstein's crimes, although it did not adequately redact names and other information that could identify the victims' identities. Some documents were completely blacked out; individual files were retroactively removed from the archive, including a photo of Epstein with Trump and his wife Melania in his home safe.

On February 11, 2026, Bondi testified at a hearing in the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee. Officially, the hearing was about oversight of the Department of Justice, but a significant portion of the questions focused on the Epstein case. The meeting quickly escalated into a heated exchange between the Attorney General and Democratic Party representatives, marked by mutual accusations and insults. Bondi refused to turn her back on Epstein's victims sitting behind her and, during the height of the argument, referred to the rising Dow Jones index, which opponents interpreted as an attempt to avoid the uncomfortable topic. Journalists also photographed prepared accusations against individual committee members, bound in folders, which the Attorney General brought to the hearing.

In March, the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena for Bondi to testify in the Epstein case. She was scheduled to appear on April 14. According to Axios, congressmembers aim to get Bondi to answer under oath, despite her resignation.

The relentless buzz surrounding the Epstein case contributed to a drop in Trump's approval ratings. According to a February YouGov poll, only 24% of Americans were satisfied with the administration's handling of the matter. 53% of respondents believed Trump was trying to cover up Epstein's crimes, and 50% thought he was involved in them (among Republican supporters, both figures were 13%). Meanwhile, The New York Times and The Atlantic report that Trump was more upset by the Justice Department's failure to successfully prosecute his political opponents, particularly New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. James was suspected of bank fraud, and Comey of lying to Congress. Both cases were closed in November. Sources told The Atlantic that Trump said Bondy lacked "the brains and courage."

What changes have already been made in the Trump administration?

This is the third high-profile resignation in the administration of the 47th US President. In May 2025, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz left his post to become the permanent US representative to the UN. His resignation was announced a few weeks after a major scandal erupted when Waltz created a secure group chat on the messaging app Signal, where senior officials discussed upcoming strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen; the chief editor of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to the chat and later published screenshots of the conversation.

The Washington Post also reported that the US President was unhappy with his advisor's close ties to Israel, bypassing the President's authority. According to the publication, Waltz was pushing for the use of military force against Iran, while Trump was leaning towards a diplomatic solution. However, the White House denied any disagreements between Trump and Waltz, and US Vice President JD Vance described Waltz's move to the UN as a "promotion."

In March 2026, Interior Security Minister Christie Noem resigned. She was criticized for the excessive brutality of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), particularly during raids in Minnesota that began in December and sparked street protests. In January, during clashes with federal agents, two U.S. citizens, Rene McClin Good and Alex Pretty, were killed. In both cases, Noem, without waiting for the results of an official investigation, labeled the deceased "domestic terrorists" and justified the actions of the immigration police. On March 3, during hearings in Congress, which were extremely unsuccessful for her, Trump announced her removal from office, but left her in public service, appointing her as a special envoy for the "Shield of America" initiative.

The Atlantic believes that Trump's decision to remove Noem from office was encouraged by the positive reaction to his removal of her. Bondy became the first member of the administration to leave after retirement and join the private sector.

Cleanings in recent months are also happening within the military leadership. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who himself was a candidate for dismissal after the Signal scandal, fired over a dozen military leaders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces Charles Brown, Chief of Staff of the US Army Randy George, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Staff of the US Air Force David Alvin and his deputy James Slife, Commander of the US Army's Transformation and Training Command General David Hodne, and Chief of the Army Chapel Corps Major General William Green, Jr.

The Atlantic notes, citing sources, that Trump had planned to make administration changes only after the midterm elections several months ago, fearing they would be perceived as concessions to the media and the Democratic Party. However, it's not out of the question that some officials could be ousted before November. According to the publication, the president is considering removing FBI Director Chris Wray, US Army Secretary Daniel Kramp, who was involved in Ukraine negotiations, and Labor Secretary Laurie Chiles-Deremer. Sources, however, note that the president has not made a final decision. The White House told the magazine that all three officials "are tirelessly implementing the president's agenda and achieving remarkable results for the American people."

Other media also report on a possible wave of resignations. According to Politico, the president is "very angry and plans to make changes." Sources told the publication that Trump expressed particular dissatisfaction with Chavez-Deremer and Trade Secretary Howard Latnik, but noted: the final decision has not been made, and in the past the president has abandoned planned changes.

An unnamed administration official contacted the publication on behalf of the Department of Commerce and assured that the White House is "thrilled" with Latnik's work on import tariffs and trade deals. "He also took a strong position against Canada from day one, which the president appreciates," a Politico source said. However, another source said Latnik is still "walking on thin ice," and another suggested that firing Latnik would allow the president to claim he is "making changes to the economy" of the country. Nevertheless, the White House officially confirmed that Chavez-Deremer and Latnik still "enjoy full support" from the president.

According to The Guardian, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard could also lose her position. Trump's particular ire was sparked by the demarche of US National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Joe Kent, who resigned in protest against the war with Iran. Speaking in March at congressional hearings, Gabbard refused to condemn Kent. This allegedly enraged Trump: according to sources, he believed that the intelligence chief was not actively enough defending the administration's position. The paper notes that the decision on Gabbard's resignation has not yet been finalized - indeed, there are no candidates in line to replace her. As in other such cases, the White House issued a denial and stated that Trump fully trusts Gabbard.

In the US, three key figures at the Pentagon have been fired in just one day. Army Chief of Staff Randy George, Director of Transformation and Preparedness David Hodne, and Army Chaplain Corps Commander William Green have all lost their jobs.

As Reuters emphasizes, such a massive purge, especially during active military operations, is unprecedented. Officially, the Pentagon does not comment on the reasons for the generals' dismissal. However, there is no doubt that it is related to the failures of the initial US plans to launch a lightning-fast aggression against Iran. The war in the Middle East is increasingly becoming a protracted conflict. It is no secret that among US military leaders, there is growing confusion about the ultimate goals of the war and dissatisfaction with political leadership. Notably, George bore the primary responsibility for equipping troops in the Middle East with air and missile defense systems, as CNN points out.

The way the Pentagon parted ways with Randy George says a lot. The agency's statement said it wished him "all the best in retirement." "The Army leadership learned of George's removal at the same time as the public," sources said. This is how they get rid of those who are disagreeable, who cause strong irritation. General Christopher LaNave, a former assistant to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his closest ally, will take over as Army chief of staff. "George's ouster deepens turmoil at all levels of the Pentagon," Reuters notes.

There is another version of the reason behind the dismissal of one of the highest-ranking US military officials.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army chief of staff General Randy George over "paranoia": he fears he himself may be sent into retirement and replaced by Admiral Dan Driskill. The New York Post reports this, citing current and former White House officials.

"All of this is driven by the uncertainty and paranoia that has developed in Pete since SignalGate. Unfortunately, it's being fueled by some of his closest aides," a source told the publication.

Randy George's dismissal came amid the US military campaign against Iran, and was not accompanied by an official statement on the reasons for this personnel decision. Two other generals were also sent packing. The Pentagon only stated that "it's time for a change in leadership."

A source close to the Trump administration explained that there is a major conflict between Hegseth and Driskoll, but the White House has banned him from firing Driskoll - at least for now.

Hegseth is reportedly very concerned about his potential resignation and knows that Driskoll is one of the main contenders for his position. Therefore, he is targeting everyone he considers close to the admiral, sources told NYP.

Driskoll is a close friend of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, having attended Yale Law School together after serving in Iraq. The admiral was mentioned as a potential successor to Hegset last summer. Rumors about his potential appointment in place of Hegset intensified in the fall when Driskoll participated in negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

Marine Corps veteran John Ullot told the New York Post that Driskoll is "a real professional, and Hegset doesn't like it when army generals show him the respect he earned through his service."

Earlier reports emerged of the U.S. leader's desire to fire the director of the FBI.

S. Dragan:

By late April 2026, his (D. Trump's) position becomes very difficult, and he might find himself in quite restrictive circumstances. His power could be in question, and there will be sentiments in the US akin to discarding a former leader and ending prior policies. It could very well be about impeachment. And Trump's well-being might be a concern. Moreover, he could be accused of bizarre thinking, to put it mildly.

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