'We know there are people actively working against' Trump in government
House spokesman faced questions about whether the Trump administration is working on removing "deep state" actors from the federal government.
White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley was asked Monday morning on Fox News's America's Newsroom about a report on how President Trump and his allies have compiled lists of disloyal government officials they want fired.
"The president has been pretty clear about the fact that he wants people in this administration who want to forward his agenda. Donald Trump was the only one elected. He was the only one the American people voted for. They didn’t vote for somebody at any of these other agencies," the spokesman said.
Gidley said there are people in government who are "pushing their own selfish political agenda, and not the agenda of the duly elected president. Every president, this one included, has the right to have people in positions that forward and execute his agenda."
The president's distrust of White House staffers and federal government employees is said to have risen after impeachment and acquittal. Trump, whose administration has been riddled with leaks, believes his government is filled with “snakes” that he wants fired and replaced, according to Axios.
Sandra Smith, one of the show's anchors, asked, "So there is truth to the fact there are lists being assembled?"
"Look, if there are any lists, I’ve not seen them," Gidley said. "But the fact is we know there are people actively working against this president ... It shouldn’t happen to any sitting president, as Donald Trump always says. So we will continue to move forward to make sure people are in positions that support this president’s agenda."
Smith asked if there were active plans to "fire any of those people on that list?"
Gidley replied: "It’s not a secret we want people in positions that work with this president and not against them. Too often, we have people in this government — the federal government is massive with millions of people, and there are a lot of people out there working against the president. If we find them, we will take appropriate action."
The memos included former District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu, whose nomination for a top Treasury Department role was withdrawn earlier this month.
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