We might call this… a small first step toward change.
Trump did promise to clear out Washington insiders, right? Who could possibly be more ‘insider’ than the White House staff themselves?
And honestly, you saw the photos. Are these the faces of people who’ve embraced the management change?
In a surprising turnaround… Obama gets a chance to actually help out-of-work Americans land a job. Somewhat less surprising, is the fact that he’s offering this help to people he knows personally.
Hoping to ensure that his staffers find decent jobs, Obama and his team have brought in representatives from Facebook, Instagram and other companies to offer insights into the job market. Officials from LinkedIn are helping White House staffers identify ways to market their skills.
And Georgetown University, not far from the White House, has designed a custom professional development program dubbed “Future44” — Obama is the 44th president — to teach Obama’s political appointees how to position themselves for life after the White House.
Narcissist that he is, he even had to name the program after himself.
Then again… what did he name his dog?
Even before the election, few if any of Obama’s aides were expected to stay for the next administration. Many are flat-out exhausted and anticipated that Hillary Clinton, if elected, would want to install her own team. But Donald Trump’s upset victory foreclosed any possibility that any of the nearly 500 staffers will stick around.
“The transition out of government is a reality for most appointees, which brings both excitement about prospects for the next chapter or a long-awaited chance to recharge batteries, and a keen awareness about a big, impending change,” Friedman said.
That change can be jarring for longtime staffers, and even a letdown. Ivan Adler, a headhunter at McCormick Group who specializes in government affairs, said most go on to work in one of two settings: firms, like consulting and lobbying agencies, or organizations like trade associations, think tanks and nonprofits.
They might want to keep their horizons open a little bit wider than the usual two. With the new sheriff in town, there may not be quite the same number of opportunities in lobby groups, either.
Once the swamp is drained, there won’t be quite so many safe harbors for professional political flunkies.
And that’s just one more promise that, if he can pull it off, will help make America Great again.
