# List of controversies of recent U.S. Presidents

Donald Trump has had historic levels of controversies for recent presidents of the United States by some metrics. Some of his hiring decisions have been criticized due to relatively high level of scandals and legal trouble. Turnover in the Trump administration was the highest of all presidents since Brookings Institution started measuring in 1980. According to some historians, Trump has received criticism from former officials at levels not seen over the last hundred years. Nepotism has also risen as a point of comparison across administrations, with Trump having more family members in prominent roles than recent presidents. Trump was the first president indicted on criminal charges in 160 years, the first convicted of a felony and the first to be impeached twice. Trump was the only living president listed in U.S. News & World Report's 2024 list of the 10 worst presidents, coming in at number 3.

## Personnel

A President of the United States hires staff for his campaign and administration, though some also hire staff for personal businesses. Some presidents have received significant criticisms about their staff due to accusations of nepotism, corruption, criminality or a high turnover rate. Some former staff or appointees have also criticized the actions of the President that hired them.
Personnel-related controversies :
| | Felony Conviction | Indicted or Charged | Ethics / scandals | Turnover | Major criticism of the President | Family members in major roles |
| | See List of federal political scandals in the United States for inclusion criteria | See List of federal political scandals in the United States for inclusion criteria | See List of federal political scandals in the United States for inclusion criteria | | | |
| Biden | | | Eric Lander Kimberly Cheatle TJ Ducklo | A-team: 71% Cabinet: 2 left | | |
| Trump | Donald Trump Steve Bannon Roger Stone Paul Manafort Mike Flynn Peter Navarro Michael Cohen George Papadopoulos Rick Gates Allen Weisselberg Rudy Giuliani | Donald Trump Mark Meadows John Eastman Jeffrey Clark Sidney Powell Jenna Ellis Walt Nauta Tom Barrack Elliott Broidy | Donald Trump Tom Price Scott Pruitt Ryan Zinke Rob Porter Betsy DeVos Wilbur Ross Steve Mnuchin Ben Carson Kellyanne Conway Elaine Chao Brenda Fitzgerald Jared Kushner Heath Hall Mick Mulvaney Barry Myers David Shulkin Tony Tooke Donald Kempf Jr. Alex Acosta David Sorensen Paul Dans Taylor Weyeneth William Perry Pendley Chad Wolf | A-team: 92% + 45% of 2nd hires Cabinet: 14 Most turnover ever | Mike Pence James Mattis Mark Milley John F. Kelly Don McGahn Jeff Sessions Stephanie Grisham Alyssa Farah Griffin John Bolton Mark Esper Bill Barr Anthony Scaramucci Michael Cohen Richard V. Spencer H.R. McMaster Tom Bossert Cliff Sims Omarosa Manigault Newman Gary Cohn Ty Cobb Nikki Haley Rex Tillerson Kurt Volker Chris Christie Paul J. Selva Dan Coats Sarah Matthews Elizabeth Neuman Miles Taylor Olivia Troye | Eric Trump Don Trump Jr. Ivanka Trump Jared Kushner Lara Trump (RNC) Kyle Yunaska |
| Obama | | | David Petraeus Terence Flynn Barvetta Singletary Martha N. Johnson | A-team: 71% Cabinet: 3 | Robert Gates | |
| W. Bush | Scooter Libby David Safavian J. Stephen Griles Roger Stillwell Robert E. Coughlin Horace Cooper | | Alberto Gonzales Paul McNulty William W. Mercer Kyle Sampson Michael Elston Michael A. Battle Bradley Schlozman Monica Goodling | A-team: 63% Cabinet: 2 | Scott McClellan | |
| Clinton | Ronald Blackley | | Bill Clinton David Watkins | A-team: 74% Cabinet: 4 | Linda Tripp Monica Lewinsky | |
| H.W. Bush | Catalina Vasquez Villalpando | | George H.W. Bush | A-team: 66% Cabinet: 8 | | |
| Reagan | Caspar Weinberger Duane Clarridge Melvyn Paisley James E. Gaines Victor D. Cohen James G. Watt Phillip D. Winn Thomas Demery Joseph A. Strauss Silvio D. DeBartolomeis John Poindexter Michael Deaver Rita Lavelle Peter Voss Oliver North | Robert C. McFarlane Elliott Abrams Clair George Alan D. Fiers Samuel Pierce Lyn Nofziger J. Lynn Helms | Edwin Meese John M. Fedders Emanuel S. Savas Anne Gorsuch Burford Louis O. Giuffrida Fred J. Villella Bob Nimmo Carlos Campbell Jim Petro William H. Kennedy Marjory Mecklenburg Guy W. Fiske | A-team: 78% Cabinet: 6 | David Stockman Donald Regan | |

### Ethics / scandals

Ethics scandals in government include conflicts of interest, improper use of government funds, hiring of unqualified or unconfirmed personnel, or other controversies that lead to firings, calls for resignation or removal by a judge.

### Significant criticism by current or former personnel

USA Today interviewed three presidential historians and a political scientist about how usual the amount of criticism Trump has gotten from former officials who served under him who reported that it had no historical precedent in the last century. The Washington Post said that no president had ever drawn more detractors from inside his inner-circle. CNN said that "No person in US politics – certainly no recent president – has such an expansive list of high-profile allies turned enemies." PBS described it as, "without precedent in the modern era."

### Nepotism

Nepotism is more often associated with dictatorships who centralize power in unqualified family members.
In 1967, a Federal anti-nepotism statute was passed after John F. Kennedy appointed his brother Robert F. Kennedy as Attorney General.

### Presidential transition

Trump's 2016 presidential transition set a 'low bar' for modern transitions according to Max Stier, followed by George H. W. Bush. Trump's 2024 transition team officially started in August, which is considered unusually late as most transition efforts start in the late spring.

## Impeachments and 14th Amendment

Donald Trump was impeached in 2019 and again in 2021 in the House. Not enough Republicans in the Senate voted to remove Trump from office after either impeachment.
Discussion also swirled around Trump's eligibility to run for President in 2024 following the January 6th attack on the Capitol. In 2024, the Supreme Court overturned Colorado's interpretation of the 14th Amendment to remove Trump.

## Conflicts of interest
### Trump

The tax returns of Donald Trump became an early source of interest for those concerned about potential conflicts of interest when Trump was a candidate for President. While not required, it was the norm since it leaked that Richard Nixon had underpaid some of his taxes. Nancy Pelosi raised concerns about his $400 million debt and who might own it and thus have leverage over the president.