President Donald Trump lost another senior foreign policy aide on Aug. 14, 2026, when Andy Baker, 46, the White House deputy national security adviser, announced he would be departing the administration in the coming weeks — the second high-profile resignation in less than a week and the latest sign that a steady exodus from the West Wing shows no sign of abating.
A Quiet Force in National Security
Despite keeping a deliberately low public profile, Baker had quietly become one of the most consequential foreign policy voices in President Trump’s second term. He had “emerged as a key figure” in Vice President JD Vance’s orbit, playing an outsize role in shaping both Vance’s foreign policy thinking and the White House’s most consequential national security decisions. Baker attended the Munich Security Conference in February alongside Vice President Vance, and he was present in the Situation Room in June 2025 during the bombing of Iranian nuclear enrichment sites. He also participated directly in Ukraine war negotiations alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.
A source close to Baker said he had delayed his departure by several months to ensure a smooth handoff to his successors. Cliff Sims, who stepped in as Vice President Vance’s national security adviser earlier this summer, will remain in that role, while Mike Needham will continue serving as White House deputy national security adviser. Baker is expected to join Robert O’Brien, who served as President Trump’s fourth national security adviser during his first term, in the private sector.
Baker said he felt proud of the administration’s accomplishments and expressed his appreciation to the president, vice president and Secretary Rubio for the opportunity to serve. Top administration officials quickly lined up to praise him. Vice President Vance called Baker “an exceptionally gifted, deeply thoughtful advisor” who had served “with distinction” and described him as “an indispensable member” of the national security team. Secretary of State Rubio said Baker had been “an invaluable asset” who “greatly advanced the America First agenda,” while Needham called him “a brilliant foreign policy mind and close friend” and Witkoff said Baker had “worked tirelessly to put America first and get deals done for the President around the world.”
Leavitt’s Exit Sets the Stage
Baker’s departure follows closely on the heels of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 28, who announced earlier in the week that she was stepping down. Leavitt cited the demands of motherhood as the driving factor, saying she could no longer “be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary.” The back-to-back announcements from two of the administration’s most visible and influential figures have intensified scrutiny of staffing stability inside the 80-year-old president’s inner circle, particularly as the administration approaches what is expected to be a difficult midterm election cycle.
A Pattern of Departures
Baker and Leavitt are far from alone. The Trump White House has seen a string of departures in recent months spanning communications, policy, and press operations. Deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson, 29, announced in late July that she was leaving her $121,500-a-year post to join the political strategy firm OnMessage Public Strategies. Jackson, who had joined the White House press team in March 2025 after serving as communications director to Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, had August 7 as her final day. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller described Jackson as “a communications powerhouse, demonstrating at all times the highest degree of tenacity, integrity, professionalism and talent.”
In April, White House director of Cabinet affairs Lea Bardon departed to become executive vice president at The Sovereign Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm. Bardon had been a central figure in crafting the administration’s public messaging, overseeing communications, Cabinet affairs, and speechwriting. Weeks after Bardon’s exit, Sonny Joy Nelson, a special assistant to Trump who served as director of media affairs and had been part of his communications team dating back to his 2024 presidential campaign and in various capacities since 2020, announced her own resignation and launched a media booking and communications consultancy called Cornerstone Strategics. Alex Pfeiffer, one of the administration’s senior communications staffers, had already left in September 2025 after roughly nine months in his role.
