Local expert weighs in on White House staffing changes

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Recent staffing changes in the White House have dominated headlines.

One South Bend political experts say all the staffing changes are unusual.

Dr. Elizabeth Bennion is a political science professor at IUSB.

She says it’s normal for each new president to make staffing changes.

Typically, new leaders replace old staff members left behind by former presidents.

Bennion says what makes President Donald Trump’s first few months so different, is that many of the resignations have come from people he hired.

“One of the unusual things here is we see so much public infighting within the White House staff, and these are not holdovers from the previous administration, they are the president’s own people. The fact that they are publicly attacking one another is quite unusual,” Bennion said.

However, Bennion says it’s too early to say how this will affect President Trump’s legacy overall.