Some of the highest-ranking members of President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday distanced themselves from an anonymous New York Times op-ed that outlined an internal “resistance” movement focused on thwarting what the author called Trump’s “misguided impulses.”
The piece is credited only to “a senior official in the Trump administration,” and it kicked off a wild guessing game inside the White House and out about the author’s identity, prompting officials from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to budget chief Mick Mulvaney who have denied either publicly or in response to POLITICO inquiries that they were responsible for the op-ed.
Mike Pence
Vice President
Statement
“The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds…The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts.”
— Communications director Jarrod Agen
Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State
Statement
“If it’s accurate … they should not well have chosen to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actor’s word for anything and put it in their newspaper. … I come from a place where if you’re not in a position to execute the commander’s intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave. … And I’ll answer your other question directly because I know someone will say gosh he didn’t answer the question. It’s not mine.”
— Mike Pompeo
Jim Mattis
Defense Secretary
Statement
“It was not his op-ed”
— Pentagon spokesperson Dana White told reporters
Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence
Statement
““Speculation that The New York Times op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not. From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire IC remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best intelligence possible,” he said in a statement, referencing the intelligence community.”
— Dan Coats
Kirstjen Nielsen
United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Statement
“Secretary Nielsen is focused on leading the men and women of DHS and protecting the homeland – not writing anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times. These types of political attacks are beneath the Secretary and the Department’s mission”
— Press secretary Tyler Q. Houlton
Ben Carson
Housing and Urban Development Secretary
Statement
“Haha nope.”
— HUD spokesman
Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary
Statement
“.@stevenmnuchin1 is honored to serve @POTUS & the American people. He feels it was irresponsible for @nytimes to print this anonymous piece. Now, dignified public servants are forced to deny being the source. It is laughable to think this could come from the Secretary.”
— Tony Sayegh Jr., Assistant Treasury Secretary for Public Affairs
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
White House Press Secretary
Statement
“The media’s wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump. Stop. If you want to know who this gutless loser is, call the opinion desk of the failing NYT at 212-556-1234, and ask them. They are the only ones complicit in this deceitful act. We stand united together and fully support our President Donald J. Trump.”
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Ryan Zinke
United States Secretary of the Interior
Statement
“No”
— Interior Department spokeswoman
Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary
Statement
“Secretary DeVos is not a Washington insider and does not play Washington insider games. She has the courage of her convictions and signs her opinions. She is not the author.”
— Liz Hill, spokeswoman for DeVos
Robert Lighthizer
U.S. Trade Representative
Statement
“I did not write it. It does not reflect my views at all, and it does not reflect the views of anyone I know in the administration. It is a complete and total fabrication.””
— Robert Lighthizer
Elaine Chao
Transportation Secretary
Statement
“For those who have inquired, this is to confirm that Secretary Chao is not the author of the op-ed.”
— DOT press office
Rick Perry
Energy Secretary
Statement
“I am not the author of the New York Times OpEd, nor do I agree with its characterizations. Hiding behind anonymity and smearing the President of the United States does not make you an “unsung hero”, it makes you a coward, unworthy of serving this Nation.”
— Rick Perry
Alex Azar
Health and Human Services Secretary
Statement
“Secretary Azar did not write the op-ed.”
— HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley
Wilbur Ross
Commerce Secretary
Statement
“I did not write and am thoroughly appalled by this op-ed. I couldn’t be prouder of our work at Commerce and of @POTUS.”
— Wilbur Ross
Andrew Wheeler
Acting EPA Administrator
Statement
“We would point you to Sarah Sanders’ tweet directing the press to call the NYT and ask them the identity of the op-ed writer… Acting Administrator Wheeler supports President Trump 100% and is honored to serve in his cabinet, he also believes whoever wrote the op-ed should resign.”
— John Konkus, Deputy Associate Administrator for Public Affairs
Ajit Pai
FCC Chairman
Statement
“Chairman Pai did not write it.”
— FCC Spokesman Brian Hart
Joe Simons
FTC Chairman
Statement
“Hey there – No.”
— FTC spokeswoman
Linda McMahon
Small Business Administrator
Statement
“I am not author of the anonymous @nytimes op-ed. @realDonaldTrump has a clear governing vision for the country and his record of results is remarkable. I am proud to serve as a member of President Trump’s @Cabinet to advocate on behalf of America’s 30 million small businesses.”
— Linda McMahon
Don McGahn
White House Counsel
Statement
Nikki Haley
Statement
Mick Mulvaney
OMB Director
Statement
“No, Dir. Mulvaney did not write the op-ed.”
— OMB Spokesperson
Jeff Sessions
Attorney General
Statement
“At this point, I’ll refer everyone to Sarah Sanders statement.”
— DOJ Spokesperson
Alexander Acosta
Labor Secretary
Statement
“The Secretary does not play these sophomoric Washington games. He is definitively not the author.”
— DOL Spokesperson
Sonny Perdue
Agriculture Secretary
Statement
“Secretary Perdue did not write the op-ed. We refer you to this statement from the White House press secretary.”
— USDA Spokesperson
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