The White House has placed a senior budget official on administrative leave after undercover footage showed him criticizing President Donald Trump and describing the administration as chaotic.
Benjamin Ellisten, a senior budget analyst, was captured in secretly recorded conversations released Monday by conservative activist James O’Keefe. In the footage, Ellisten referred to Trump as a “madman” and claimed the president was mismanaging the administration.
A White House official confirmed to The Daily Caller that Ellisten had been placed on leave. “He has no direct access to the President or Senior Staff, and does not work on the White House campus,” the official said.
What the Video Showed
The undercover recordings were conducted by journalists associated with O’Keefe, whose investigative operations have targeted government agencies and political figures over the past decade.
In the footage, Ellisten allegedly expressed frustration with Trump’s decision-making process. “The way his decisions are so erratic, you would think he drinks,” Ellisten said in the video. “He doesn’t drink. And that’s what makes it so dangerous.”
Ellisten also described Trump as “invincible” in a way he characterized as dangerous, and questioned the president’s erratic approach to policy decisions despite Trump being “of sound mind and body.”
The official also speculated about Trump’s policies involving Iran and global oil markets, suggesting they could benefit business interests connected to the president’s family. “One of the things that looks like it’s going on, and going on a lot, is insider trading,” Ellisten said in the recording.
Other Officials in Recordings
The footage also included comments from Maxim Lott, a special assistant on domestic policy, who described parts of the administration’s internal process as “chaotic.” Lott suggested that lower-level officials sometimes make decisions based on what they believe Trump would support politically.
“The government right now is a little bit uncontrolled,” Lott said in the recording, adding that some policy decisions are made based on instinct and political popularity rather than detailed analysis.
Unlike Ellisten, Lott publicly defended himself after the recordings surfaced. “I went out with an individual I thought was a genuine person, but it goes to show how insidious politics and this city can be,” Lott said in a statement. “Nothing I said was contradictory of this Administration, and I remain fully committed to carrying out its agenda.”
As of Monday evening, there was no indication that Lott had been suspended or disciplined.
Broader Pattern of Investigations
The episode marks the latest undercover operation targeting federal employees during Trump’s second administration. O’Keefe’s group has increasingly focused on exposing internal dissent within government agencies, particularly among career officials and political appointees.
Trump and his allies have argued that internal resistance from bureaucrats and political appointees undermined significant portions of his first administration. Since returning to office, the administration has aggressively pushed to identify and remove officials viewed as hostile to the president’s policies.
A White House official said the views expressed by Ellisten were “not reflective of patriots who admirably serve in the Administration.”
This story has been updated. CNN’s politics team contributed to this report.
