Upheaval is now standard operating procedure inside the White House
Melania Trump
President Donald Trump  first lady Melania Trump and their son  Barron  walk to Marine One at the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach  Fla.
March 17  2017 President Donald Trump  first lady Melania Trump and their son  Barron  walk to Marine One at the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach  Fla. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
Upset about damaging leaks of  his  calls with world leaders and other national security information   Trump  has ordered an internal investigation to find the leakers. Staffers  meanwhile  are so fearful of being accused of talking to the media that some have resorted to a secret chat app — Confide — that erases messages as soon as they’re read.
The chaos and competing factions that were a  Trump  trademark in business and campaigning now are starting to define his presidency  according to interviews with a dozen White House officials as well as other Republicans. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss internal White House dynamics and deliberations.
Staffers buzz privately about who is up and who is down  with many eagerly gossiping about which poor colleague gets an unflattering portrayal on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” For the past two weeks  it has been White House press secretary Sean Spicer. But aides said  Trump  was especially upset by a sketch that cast White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon as the Grim Reaper manipulating the president — who was ultimately relegated to a miniature desk  playing dolefully with an expandable toy.
[ Trump  turns Mar-a-Lago Club dinner table into an open-air situation room]
On Monday afternoon  as speculation of a staff shake-up was rife on cable news channels   Trump  made clear to a small group of reporters what  he  thought of  his  chief of staff: “Reince is doing a great job. Not a good job. A great job ” the president said.
The problem:  Trump  had yet to weigh in  and aides and advisers were loath to take sides without knowing for certain whether their often mercurial and erratic boss wanted to keep Flynn or cut him loose.
On Monday  after  Trump  made it through a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau without being asked about Flynn  a group of reporters gathered outside Spicer’s office for more than 80 minutes. Spicer twice declined to answer questions about Flynn. When White House chief of staff Reince Priebus walked by  he was asked whether the president still had confidence in Flynn. Priebus gave no answer.
Not long after  Kellyanne Conway  the counselor to the president  said  Trump  had “full confidence” in Flynn. Yet a few minutes later  Spicer issued an official — and conflicting — statement  saying  Trump  was “evaluating the situation.”
[As Flynn falls under growing pressure over Russia contacts   Trump  remains silent]
In an administration where proximity to  Trump  is power  aides  advisers and visitors often mill about in the West Wing  lingering long after their scheduled appointments have ended.
[ Trump  friend says Priebus is ‘in way over his head’]
Christopher Ruddy  a longtime friend of  Trump ’s who on Sunday publicly criticized Priebus in television and print interviews as being “in way over his head ” received calls from both the chief of staff and Jared Kushner — Trump’s son-in-law  senior adviser and enforcer — and said Monday that he thought the White House was working to remedy its challenges.
 Trump ’s legislative affairs team — headed by Rick Dearborn and Marc Short  both veterans of the Hill — is also considered well-liked  disciplined and professional. But congressional staffers say they have been given advance notice about some executive orders on topics such as cybersecurity and Guantanamo Bay that have never materialized  a delay they attribute to chaos within the West Wing.
President Donald Trump  first lady [TGT] and their son  Barron  walk to Marine One at the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach  Fla.
March 17  2017 President Donald Trump  first lady [TGT] and their son  Barron  walk to Marine One at the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach  Fla. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
Upset about damaging leaks of  his  calls with world leaders and other national security information   Trump  has ordered an internal investigation to find the leakers. Staffers  meanwhile  are so fearful of being accused of talking to the media that some have resorted to a secret chat app — Confide — that erases messages as soon as they’re read.
The chaos and competing factions that were a  Trump  trademark in business and campaigning now are starting to define his presidency  according to interviews with a dozen White House officials as well as other Republicans. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss internal White House dynamics and deliberations.
Staffers buzz privately about who is up and who is down  with many eagerly gossiping about which poor colleague gets an unflattering portrayal on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” For the past two weeks  it has been White House press secretary Sean Spicer. But aides said  Trump  was especially upset by a sketch that cast White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon as the Grim Reaper manipulating the president — who was ultimately relegated to a miniature desk  playing dolefully with an expandable toy.
[ Trump  turns Mar-a-Lago Club dinner table into an open-air situation room]
On Monday afternoon  as speculation of a staff shake-up was rife on cable news channels   Trump  made clear to a small group of reporters what  he  thought of  his  chief of staff: “Reince is doing a great job. Not a good job. A great job ” the president said.
The problem:  Trump  had yet to weigh in  and aides and advisers were loath to take sides without knowing for certain whether their often mercurial and erratic boss wanted to keep Flynn or cut him loose.
On Monday  after  Trump  made it through a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau without being asked about Flynn  a group of reporters gathered outside Spicer’s office for more than 80 minutes. Spicer twice declined to answer questions about Flynn. When White House chief of staff Reince Priebus walked by  he was asked whether the president still had confidence in Flynn. Priebus gave no answer.
Not long after  Kellyanne Conway  the counselor to the president  said  Trump  had “full confidence” in Flynn. Yet a few minutes later  Spicer issued an official — and conflicting — statement  saying  Trump  was “evaluating the situation.”
[As Flynn falls under growing pressure over Russia contacts   Trump  remains silent]
In an administration where proximity to  Trump  is power  aides  advisers and visitors often mill about in the West Wing  lingering long after their scheduled appointments have ended.
[ Trump  friend says Priebus is ‘in way over his head’]
Christopher Ruddy  a longtime friend of  Trump ’s who on Sunday publicly criticized Priebus in television and print interviews as being “in way over his head ” received calls from both the chief of staff and Jared Kushner — Trump’s son-in-law  senior adviser and enforcer — and said Monday that he thought the White House was working to remedy its challenges.
 Trump ’s legislative affairs team — headed by Rick Dearborn and Marc Short  both veterans of the Hill — is also considered well-liked  disciplined and professional. But congressional staffers say they have been given advance notice about some executive orders on topics such as cybersecurity and Guantanamo Bay that have never materialized  a delay they attribute to chaos within the West Wing.