“These aren’t staffers who rely on Senate confirmation. Instead, Trump could have picked anyone. Look at his picks for Chief of Staff. They were dreadful up until Meadows”
And THAT is the result of only family and low end people left because working there at any level meant you were a target. The decent people you would have wanted stayed FAR away, because of threats.
And as for Vindman at the NSC not being in the “White House” i mean in the larger sense. The NSC is in “the White House” as in listening to calls, going there for meetings, working with the results of other meetings.
and besides, he and his brother did indeed work at the White House.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/trump-impeachment-witness-vindman-escorted-out-of-white-house.html
Again, I largely agree with that. The hostiliy of establishment DC made working in Trump’s Administration unsavory for people who were experienced and wanted to continue to work in and/or around DC.
With respect to that Vindman photo-op, that’s what that was, a photo-op. Vindman did not work in the White House, although his brother may have. I’m not sure. I know people who were on the staff with him. He worked in an annex...like the vast majority of NSC staffers do.
Granted, he was likely a semi-frequent visitor. But, the way that story was written (and several others from that day), it makes it seem that A) Trump is petulant and vindictive and Vindman was a major player in Trump’s White House. He wasn’t. He was just an O5 staffer, one of dozens on the NSC staff.