The shortest tenure: five days for Zacharia

Katie Zacharia was fired on Friday after just five days as White House press secretary. Her start had been rough: a first press briefing on Tuesday that drew wide criticism, and questions about her legal credentials after she admitted she did not pass the bar exam.

She had taken over from Karoline Leavitt, who said in August that she was resigning after 20 months in the role so she could spend more time with her young family.

The same day, Trump denied reports that he was weighing a replacement for Susie Wiles, the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff.

Noem, Bondi and the other cabinet exits

The departures stretch across the administration's senior ranks:

• •Kristi Noem, the former homeland security secretary and the face of Trump's mass deportation campaign, was sacked on 5 March. Her tenure coincided with federal immigration operations that killed two US citizens in Minneapolis, one of whom she called a "domestic terrorist" without evidence. She told a March congressional hearing that Trump had known about her approval of a $220m ad campaign urging immigrants to "self-deport", which featured her on horseback and reportedly left Trump "pissed". Her adviser Corey Lewandowski left with her; she was succeeded as DHS secretary by Markwayne Mullin, later repurposed as special envoy to the "Shield of the Americas" coalition, and since that expired last month she serves in a vaguely defined advisory role.
• •Attorney general Pam Bondi was pushed out in April after a turbulent 14 months, amid Trump's frustration over her handling of the Epstein files release and her failure to prosecute his political enemies sufficiently. A month after her ouster she revealed a thyroid cancer diagnosis; her deputy Todd Blanche took the role in August.
• •Labor secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer stepped down in April after a Department of Labor inspector general investigation produced misconduct allegations, including an affair with a subordinate and drinking on the job. Keith Sonderling replaced her.

Gabbard and Guilfoyle follow the pattern

National intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard resigned in May, officially citing her husband's rare cancer diagnosis, though she was reportedly forced out after being sidelined during Trump's attacks on Venezuela and Iran. She had testified to Congress that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, and was replaced on an acting basis by Bill Pulte before Jay Clayton took over.

Earlier this week, the administration asked US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to step down after reports that she sought payment from a Trump donor in exchange for access to administration officials.

Men who stayed, and the double standard charge

The contrast with male officials is sharp. National security adviser Mike Waltz is the only senior man punished under Trump: fired in May last year after inadvertently adding a journalist to a Signal chat in which Hegseth disclosed secret war plans, he was then nominated as US ambassador to the United Nations.

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who faced allegations of war crimes, was allowed to ride out the controversy and remains in post.

Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick faced scrutiny over past ties to Jeffrey Epstein and visits to his private island, but the White House backed him when Democrats called for his resignation. Kash Patel, accused of being intoxicated or absent on the job, denied the allegations and remains FBI director.

Democrats have seized on what they see as a gender double standard, arguing that Trump appears to fire only women, even ultra-loyal ones. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in April that the administration rewards misconduct by men: "If you're a man in the Trump administration, it seems that they reward misconduct."

Trump himself said in a 2018 interview that he would not call himself a feminist, saying: "I'm for women. I'm for men. I'm for everyone."

On Friday, he said Wiles would stay on as chief of staff for a long time.