Since the start of the year, three problems have created major political traumas for President Donald Trump, helping to lower his already lagging job approval level.

They are the mishandling of his signal program to deport thousands of illegal immigrants, the bungled roll-out of the Justice Department's Jeffrey Epstein files, and the ill-planned and unpopular war against Iran.

The public faces of the first two problems--Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi--are already gone, abruptly fired by Trump. Can the third--Pete Hegseth--be far behind?

Any administration's high-profile failures require political scapegoats to take the fall. Every White House generally tries to avoid responsibility for its perceived shortcomings, especially one that repeatedly hails its leader as the paragon of all presidents.

Despite their ultra-loyalty to Trump, both Noem and Bondi were sent packing in a bid to put less confrontational faces on Trump's immigration and retribution policies.

As for Iran, the person most responsible for that unpopular venture is none other than the president, who continues to think he could easily do militarily to Iran what other presidents chose to pursue diplomatically.

But as he struggles to both meet his strategic goals there and prevent further damage to the global economy, it seems only a matter of time before he blames someone for selling the idea that the Iran venture would be as simple as the ouster of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.

And though that would target one of his fellow male macho compatriots, the likeliest victim would and should be Secretary of Defense, aka Secretary of War, Peter Hegseth.

Like Noem and Bondi, Hegseth was named for his ultra-loyalty to Trump and his willingness to do anything and everything to please the president, from his war against the Pentagon press to his heavy-handed efforts to de-diversify the Pentagon by ousting top female and minority officers, especially those with ties to prior presidencies.

As Iran's military resilience has shown, Hegseth's regular morning briefings, hailing daily unprecedented military success by U.S. forces, may begin to embarrass the administration, like the infamous "five o'clock follies" during the Vietnam war, at which military briefers in Saigon presented optimistic portrayals at odds with reality in the field.

If this administration adhered to normal standards of legality, propriety and competence, Hegseth too would have been fired for even attempting some of the goals for which Trump tasked him, like Noem and Bondi.

But they are not alone. This Cabinet is riddled with incompetence, embarrassments, and officials whose views of their jobs run counter to what they should.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has threatened the future health of American children by putting the aegis of government behind highly questionable theories that undercut support for childhood vaccinations.

The nation's top intelligence officials--Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard or CIA Director John Radclife or those at the Pentagon--may have already endangered national security by misreading the likelihood of Iran's response against the Persian Gulf nations and the Straits of Hormuz.

And some are just embarrassing.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has displayed the kind of personal problems that helped bring down Noem. They might have attracted more attention had it not been for the questionable activities of the White House, the Trump family and more high-profile officials.

According to The New York Post, the department's inspector general has been investigating Chavez-DeRemer over a complaint she was "abusing her position" by pursuing an "inappropriate" relationship with a subordinate, a member of her security staff, who was placed on paid leave, though she denied any wrong-doing.

She was also accused of drinking in her office during the work day and committing "travel fraud" by having her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff "make up" official trips. Subsequently, four top aides were placed on administrative leave, and two resigned.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a businessman and former Democrat who became a Trump fundraiser and co-chair of his transition team, falsely sought to downplay his onetime relationship with Epstein.

Lutnick claimed in a 2025 podcast interview with Pod Force One that he and his wife were so revolted by Epstein's conduct during a 2005 visit to his New York mansion they decided to "never be in a room with that disgusting person ever again." But The New York Times reported Justice Department documents showed that in December 2012, he reached out to Epstein to see if he, his wife and his children could visit the financier's private Caribbean island for a meal, a visit that subsequently took place.

Though a friend of Trump before both entered government, Lutnick may find that won't count for much; with Trump, loyalty is a one-way street. If something goes wrong, he won't be the one to pay the price.

At present, a lot is going wrong.

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