--- title: White House Shakeup: National Security Spokesperson Quits description: National Security Council spokesperson Michael Anton is the latest to quit the White House amid an ongoing shakeup canonical: https://time.com/5232697/michael-anton-quits-national-security-council/ author: Laignee Barron article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-09T04:29:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:05:27.149Z article:section: Politics og:title: National Security Spokesperson Michael Anton Quits og:description: His departure comes as Trump's third national security adviser arrives og:url: https://time.com/5232697/michael-anton-quits-national-security-council/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4438afbb12f6a421/69892d1f8fd2ee70f635b41f/gettyimages-942737602.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders Holds News Briefing At The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: National Security Spokesperson Michael Anton Quits twitter:description: His departure comes as Trump's third national security adviser arrives twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4438afbb12f6a421/69892d1f8fd2ee70f635b41f/gettyimages-942737602.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # National Security Council Spokesperson Michael Anton Becomes Latest to Leave Trump's White House > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0522ab52-d4cd-40c7-9915-96d78443d1da&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why President Trump's Firings Are Not All The Same [Watch (HLS stream): Why President Trump's Firings Are Not All The Same](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QQ934mGx.m3u8) (1:48)  _Published 2018-03-20. A guide to former Trump administration staffers._ by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Apr 9, 2018 4:29 AM UTC A guide to former Trump administration staffers. by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Apr 9, 2018 4:29 AM UTC National Security Council spokesperson Michael Anton is the [latest official to ](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/08/national-security-spokesman-anton-trump-508641)leave the White House amid an ongoing shakeup of national security and foreign policy staffers, Politico reports. Anton’s resignation was announced Sunday, just before President Donald Trump’s third national security adviser, [John Bolton](http://time.com/5220103/john-bolton-is-trumps-newest-hawk-how-tough-will-he-be/?iid=sr-link4), starts the job. Anton, who also worked in George W. Bush’s administration as a speechwriter, was one of the earliest and most vocal defenders of President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, writing blog posts and essays defending Trump in the early days of the 2016 presidential campaign. He earned plaudits as one of the few intellectuals on the Hill, and was [described](http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-anonymous-pro-trump-decius-now-works-inside-the-white-house/article/2006623) last year by the _Weekly Standard_ as “a fast-talking 47-year-old intellectual who, unlike most of his colleagues, can readily quote Roman histories and Renaissance thinkers.” According to Politico, Anton will be heading to Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center, the conservative, Christian school’s Washington, D.C. extension campus, as a writer and lecturer. “I will be forever grateful to President Trump for the opportunity to serve my country and implement his agenda,” Anton told Politico. Anton’s departure comes just over two weeks after President Trump [fired](http://time.com/5211928/hr-mcmaster-resign-john-bolton-trump-white-house-national-security-advisor/?iid=sr-link4) national security advisor H.R. McMaster and less than one month after the ousting of Secretary of State [Rex Tillerson](http://time.com/5211992/rex-tillerson-trump-goodbye-mean-spirited-town/?iid=sr-link6). Unlike those administration officials, White House staffers said Anton was not at odds with the president. Trump has “nothing but good things to say” about him, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Politico. “Michael is one of the smartest and most talented individuals I’ve ever worked with — not to mention an amazing chef,” said Sanders, who also called him a “true friend.” ## Transcript [00:00] Before he became president, Donald Trump was [00:02] famous for firing people on television. You're fired. [00:06] You're fired. Hillary, you're fired. So it's not surprising [00:10] that his first year in office has seen a number of firings [00:12] and resignations, nearly triple the rate in President [00:15] Obama's first year according to one study. [00:16] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] But the [00:20] high turnover rate obscures the very different reasons [00:23] behind the departure Some have been typical. People [00:26] who lack because they were ready for something [00:27] different. That includes everyone from deputy White [00:30] House chief of staff Katie Wash to press secretary Sean [00:33] Spicer and communications director Hope Hicks. Then [00:36] there's people who left or were forced out because [00:37] they disagreed on policy. Deputy Attorney General [00:40] Sally Yates was fired for refusing to defend the travel [00:43] ban. Economic advisor Gary Cohn resigned over [00:46] transplant implements steel and aluminum tariffs. And [00:49] secretary of state Rax Tillerson was fired after clashing [00:51] with trump too many times. Others left under a cloud [00:55] of scandal. Health and Human Services secretary Tom [00:58] Price resigned amid criticism of his use of taxpayer [01:01] funded charter flights. [ MUSIC ] CDC Director Brenda [01:04] Fitzgerald resigned after reports she had traded in [01:06] tobacco stocks. And staff secretary Rob Porter [01:09] resigned after accusations of domestic violence. In [01:12] some cases, the departure itself has been [01:14] controversial. Trump's firing of FBI Director James [01:17] Comey started a series of events Of events that led to [01:19] the appointment of a special counsel. And the firing of [01:22] FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe raised questions [01:25] about the president's involvement. At least one Trump [01:28] staffer should have seen it coming. Aide Omarosa [01:31] Manigault was fired in December in part for misusing [01:33] White House car service. But it was the frist time she'd [01:37] been fired by Donald Trump. You know I've always [01:38] been a big Omarosa fan, but Omarosa you're fired. 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