White House leaks emerge as season of scandal hits Trump Cabinet
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Somebody call for a plumber, the White House is springing leaks.
The second Trump administration has been buttoned up when compared to its chaotic 2016 vintage.
During President Donald Trump‘s first administration, power plays between White House aides routinely spilled out into the press, with reporters sometimes being used to advance personal, political, and policy agendas within the West Wing that was more ideologically divided than his second term.
The internal politicking of Trump’s second administration hadn’t really reared its head in 2025, but those tactics are finally starting to emerge, particularly after the second fatal shooting of an anti-ICE protester in Minneapolis last weekend — nine months before this year’s all-important midterm elections.
The White House has downplayed the leaks, telling the Washington Examiner, “there’s nothing the fake news loves more than leakers who have no idea what they’re talking about.”
“While the fake news embarrasses themselves with false narratives, the Trump administration has remained committed to implementing the president’s agenda and delivering for the American people,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
Regardless, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, or someone close to her, this week appeared to be playing political offense and defense.
For example, there were reports that Noem strategized with the White House before last Saturday’s maligned press conference after the shooting of Alex Pretti.
During that briefing, Noem told reporters that Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon before he was killed after an angry exchange with Border Patrol agents he was observing conducting an immigration law enforcement operation.
There were also reports that White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller was responsible for the language of a DHS social media post that alleged Pretti’s gun and magazines made it look “like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, seen here.
The officers attempted to…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 24, 2026
Others have defended Noem and Miller by contending their response was premised on reports from Border Patrol …
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Somebody call for a plumber, the White House is springing leaks.
The second Trump administration has been buttoned up when compared to its chaotic 2016 vintage.
During President Donald Trump‘s first administration, power plays between White House aides routinely spilled out into the press, with reporters sometimes being used to advance personal, political, and policy agendas within the West Wing that was more ideologically divided than his second term.
The internal politicking of Trump’s second administration hadn’t really reared its head in 2025, but those tactics are finally starting to emerge, particularly after the second fatal shooting of an anti-ICE protester in Minneapolis last weekend — nine months before this year’s all-important midterm elections.
The White House has downplayed the leaks, telling the Washington Examiner, “there’s nothing the fake news loves more than leakers who have no idea what they’re talking about.”
“While the fake news embarrasses themselves with false narratives, the Trump administration has remained committed to implementing the president’s agenda and delivering for the American people,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
Regardless, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, or someone close to her, this week appeared to be playing political offense and defense.
For example, there were reports that Noem strategized with the White House before last Saturday’s maligned press conference after the shooting of Alex Pretti.
During that briefing, Noem told reporters that Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon before he was killed after an angry exchange with Border Patrol agents he was observing conducting an immigration law enforcement operation.
There were also reports that White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller was responsible for the language of a DHS social media post that alleged Pretti’s gun and magazines made it look “like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, seen here.
The officers attempted to…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 24, 2026
Others have defended Noem and Miller by contending their response was premised on reports from Border Patrol …
White House leaks emerge as season of scandal hits Trump Cabinet
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Somebody call for a plumber, the White House is springing leaks.
The second Trump administration has been buttoned up when compared to its chaotic 2016 vintage.
During President Donald Trump‘s first administration, power plays between White House aides routinely spilled out into the press, with reporters sometimes being used to advance personal, political, and policy agendas within the West Wing that was more ideologically divided than his second term.
The internal politicking of Trump’s second administration hadn’t really reared its head in 2025, but those tactics are finally starting to emerge, particularly after the second fatal shooting of an anti-ICE protester in Minneapolis last weekend — nine months before this year’s all-important midterm elections.
The White House has downplayed the leaks, telling the Washington Examiner, “there’s nothing the fake news loves more than leakers who have no idea what they’re talking about.”
“While the fake news embarrasses themselves with false narratives, the Trump administration has remained committed to implementing the president’s agenda and delivering for the American people,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
Regardless, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, or someone close to her, this week appeared to be playing political offense and defense.
For example, there were reports that Noem strategized with the White House before last Saturday’s maligned press conference after the shooting of Alex Pretti.
During that briefing, Noem told reporters that Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon before he was killed after an angry exchange with Border Patrol agents he was observing conducting an immigration law enforcement operation.
There were also reports that White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller was responsible for the language of a DHS social media post that alleged Pretti’s gun and magazines made it look “like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, seen here.
The officers attempted to…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 24, 2026
Others have defended Noem and Miller by contending their response was premised on reports from Border Patrol …
