Trump team split? US President loses one of his closest aides
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budovich, one of Donald Trump’s closest allies, is leaving the US president’s administration. This marks the most high-profile resignation of his second term, according to Axios.
Budovich is considered one of Trump’s closest allies and the chief architect of his communications strategy. He was responsible for shaping and spreading Trump’s key talking points, which were amplified by the media and reinforced the support of the voter base. His style, simple, emotional, and often provocative, mirrored Trump’s own rhetoric.
As one of Trump’s top communications advisers, Budovich maintained steady ties with the media, coordinated messaging campaigns, and helped build the image of Trump as a "leader restoring America’s greatness."
He is leaving his position for a new job, though details have not yet been disclosed.
After Trump’s first presidential term ended in 2021, Budovich briefly served as his spokesperson before heading the political action committee MAGA Inc. In 2024, he returned to the team during Trump’s campaign and once again took on a senior White House role after Trump’s reelection.
The resignation came as a surprise, given that Trump’s second term has so far been marked by relative staffing stability, unlike his first, when high-level turnover was frequent.
Trump’s administration has recently begun inviting back hundreds of federal employees who were dismissed under Elon Musk’s leadership of the DOGE department. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick commented that Musk’s approach to DOGE focused more on layoffs than on cost savings.
