Trump shows no sign of slowing as he builds White House in own image

Officials expect further turmoil and more cabinet-level changes could come this week

US President Donald Trump is giving no signs of curbing his White House shake-ups, as he builds an administration in his own freewheeling image.

After a series of high-profile departures, including the sacking of Rex Tillerson on Tuesday, analysts predict further turmoil and the removal of more members of the administration.

Iran expressed concern yesterday that the changes brought Mr Trump closer to his goal of abandoning the 2015 nuclear agreement.

“The United States is determined to leave the nuclear deal and changes at the State Department were made with that goal in mind – or at least it was one of the reasons,” said Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, according to Isna, the semi-official news agency.

Meanwhile, more details have emerged of Mr Tillerson’s removal. He was fired in a post on Twitter soon after returning from a trip to Africa, where he was struck down by food poisoning.

His termination came after Mr Trump’s announcement last week that he would meet North Korean’s Kim Jong-un, a decision made without consulting his chief diplomat – a move that frustrated Mr Tillerson and privately pleased a president who told aides he found the process easier without his secretary of state, according to The Washington Post.

Mr Tillerson was woken at 2am by a telephone call from John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, who relayed Mr Trump’s displeasure and reportedly told him the president wanted him out.

In the aftermath, Mr Trump revealed that a difference in world views was to blame.

“I’m really at a point where we’re getting very close to having the cabinet and other things that I want,” he said.

Officials said more changes would come this week.

According to Washington speculation, the next in line could be David Shulkin, the Veterans Affairs Secretary, who misused taxpayer money during a trip to Europe last year, or H R McMaster, the National Security Adviser whose briefing style has irked the president.

Rich Galen, a veteran Republican strategist, said Jeff Sessions, the embattled Attorney General, was also vulnerable.

“Trump is becoming more comfortable with the expanse of his powers and the idea that he can fire anyone he wants at any time he wants,” he said.

“There’ll be more of this in the next months and he can say he is preparing for re-election, or the mid-terms, or North Korean talks.”

Mr Tillerson’s departure followed that of Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs banker who resigned from his post as chief White House economic adviser after Mr Trump pressed ahead with plans to impose tariffs on imports of aluminium and steel.

Governments around the world are now trying to understand the effects of the changes.

The Kremlin said it hoped for a constructive and sober approach to relations between Russia and the United States, while the Turkish Foreign Minister said he wanted a “mutually respectful” relationship.

In Iran, the Javan newspaper, believed to be close to the Revolutionary Guard, also said the removal of Mr Tillerson signalled the end of the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Either way, analysts suggested it meant moderates were losing ground in the Trump administration.

Reva Goujon, vice-president of geopolitical intelligence platform and publisher Global Analysis at Stratfor, wrote: “Even if the nuclear deal survives on European life support, Iran can clearly see that the pragmatists in the administration advocating a more balanced approach to the JCPOA are on the decline while hawks like Mike Pompeo and US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley are on the rise.”

The same goes for American observers, although there is hope that Mr Pompeo’s close alliance with the president could help the State Department to regain ground lost under Mr Tillerson.

“Tillerson’s ousting is a sign of continued turbulence in US foreign policy,” said Jessica Chen Weiss, a Cornell University professor.

“A potential silver lining is that the State Department will fare better under someone who has Trump’s ear.”