Running on Empty | Officials Flee Trump at a Record Pace — July 23, 2026

Summary

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The Kinzinger Report: “Running on Empty | Officials Flee Trump at a Record Pace”

Host: Adam Kinzinger
Date: July 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

Adam Kinzinger delves into the Trump administration’s escalating senior staff exodus, unaccounted-for Venezuelan oil revenues, lack of transparency surrounding the new Saudi nuclear deal, President Trump’s controversial remarks on fallen troops, and the political drama playing out around Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff. With direct analysis and pointed criticism, Kinzinger highlights the dangers of eroding institutional checks, personal enrichment, and the administration’s aversion to basic accountability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Record Turnover Among Senior Trump Officials

• Unprecedented Departures:
  • 27 Senate-confirmed officials have left in the first 18 months of Trump’s current term—more than double the 11 that left in Trump’s first term, and vastly higher than the average (“about four”) under Bush, Obama, or Biden.
  • High-profile exits include three cabinet secretaries, the heads of the CDC, FDA, IRS, and the Department of the Navy, plus multiple Treasury and legal officials.
• Unfilled Positions and Reliance on “Acting” Officials:
  • Only 578 nominations made—“fewer than any president since Reagan”—and only **126 since January 1st, 2026.
  • Kinzinger highlights Trump’s preference for acting officials for “more flexibility,” which actually means “he can put anyone he likes in these jobs. Not based on merit, based on loyalty” (01:35).
  • Senate confirmation, per Kinzinger, is a “moment when somebody outside the administration gets to put a nominee under oath and ask what they actually believe” (02:00) —a process Trump is escalatingly avoiding.
• The Constitutional Issue:
  • Kinzinger frames this as a subversion of “Advice and Consent,” warning that “the founders did not build a check on presidential power thinking a president could get around the whole thing by sticking the word ‘acting’ in front of a job title. That’s not clever. That’s a loophole. And Congress should close it” (03:05).

2. Missing $13 Billion in Venezuelan Oil Money

• Opaque Finances:
  • $13 billion in revenue from Venezuelan oil sales is unaccounted for; only “about 300 million” can be traced to Caracas (04:07).
  • Secretary Rubio stated it would be “short term” and “in an account in Qatar,” but updates have since ceased.
  • The president has publicly asserted: “the money… will be controlled by me and that the United States is, quote, making a lot of money off Venezuelan oil” (04:23).
• Bi-partisan Calls for Transparency:
  • Representative Joaquin Castro notes Congress was kept in the dark; Maria Salazar, despite being pro-Trump, calls for “more transparency” (05:43).
• Kinzinger’s Critique:
  • “Look, there’s no conspiracy theory...the President told us himself the money would be controlled by him. Well, it’s been controlled by him, and now nobody can find it” (06:05).

3. The Saudi Nuclear Deal: Lack of Safeguards & Confusion

• Details of the Deal:
  • Signed by the U.S. and Saudi Energy ministers; worth billions over 30 years.
  • Unlike previous agreements, excludes the IAEA’s “additional protocol” (enhanced inspections) and the so-called “gold standard” ban on enrichment and reprocessing—both conditions in the UAE nuclear deal (06:37).
• Contradictory Messaging:
  • Trump later added on social media that there would be “no enrichment,” and tied the deal to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords—a detail omitted by the Energy Department (07:25).
  • Kinzinger notes: "The President attached a condition to a deal a day after it was done, and it happens to be the one condition the Saudis have refused for years" (07:38).
• Potential Conflict of Interest:
  • The Saudi wealth fund has “$2 billion sitting in Jared Kushner’s investment firm” and “financed a $7 billion real estate deal with the Trump Organization” (08:18).
  • Kinzinger: “In any other administration, that would be a scandal.”

4. Trump’s Comments About Fallen Troops

• Insensitive Remarks:
  • After missile attacks in Iran killed four U.S. soldiers, Trump claims: “All of them said very strongly, we can’t let...We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. They won’t have a nuclear weapon” (Trump, 08:41).
  • Kinzinger highlights Trump never spoke to the deceased, yet still “put his own words in their mouth on the day their bodies returned home” (08:50).
  • At a Georgia rally, Trump says: “When I go to Dover, I read charts on all of the young people. And some are unbelievable, some are a little bit, you know, they got a little bit of a little. Couple of little bad things put in” (Trump, 09:03).
• Kinzinger’s Response:
  • “Think about how that sounds to every Gold Star family in this country when your child comes home in a casket, the president opens a file and grades them. And if that's not disgusting enough, he's going to talk about it at a campaign rally” (09:15).
  • Kinzinger insists that, at Dover, the President’s only job is “to stand there in silence and let the moment belong to somebody else. But Trump cannot do that” (09:20).

5. White House Panic: The Ossoff Factor

• Senator Jon Ossoff’s Relentless Oversight:
  • Ossoff’s probing questions have put Trump’s officials on the spot, especially regarding 2020 election denial (Jay Clayton), military effectiveness (Pete Hegseth), and the Iran war (09:50).
• Trump’s Reaction:
  • At a Georgia rally, Trump attacks Ossoff: “You’re terrible. Senator John Ossoff. He’s terrible. He reminds me of Pinky Herman. Do you ever see Pinky?...I can’t believe that he’s a senator and he’s not respected at all in Washington. You don’t even hear his name mentioned” (Trump, 10:26).
  • Kinzinger quickly notes: “He called the senator a Nobody. In a speech where he said his name over and over and in a state he flew down to in an attempt to unseat him? Sure, nobody” (10:52).
  • Trump endorses Mike Collins—an election denier, advocate for Jan. 6 pardons, whose son-in-law is described as a “white nationalist influencer.”
• Broader Point:
  • Kinzinger sees this as a pattern: “This is how the White House handles questions it can’t answer … So their plan is to get rid of the people who ask and replace them with yes men that they know never will” (11:21).
• Advice to Democrats:
  • “Maybe take a lesson from Jon Ossoff. When you ask questions of Trump administration officials, don’t make it about you. Don’t grandstand … Just ask questions they can’t answer and make it clear” (11:50).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Acting Officials:
  • “He can put anyone he likes in these jobs. Not based on merit, based on loyalty. And by the way, then they're begging for his approval.” – Adam Kinzinger (01:45)
• On Missing Oil Money:
  • “The President told us himself the money would be controlled by him. Well, it's been controlled by him, and now nobody can find it.” – Adam Kinzinger (06:05)
• On Saudi Nuclear Deal:
  • “The President attached a condition to a deal a day after it was done, and it happens to be the one condition the Saudis have refused for years.” – Adam Kinzinger (07:38)
• On Fallen Soldiers:
  • “The president opens a file and grades them. And if that's not disgusting enough, he's going to talk about it at a campaign rally.” – Adam Kinzinger (09:18)
• On Accountability:
  • “Their plan is to get rid of the people who ask and replace them with yes men that they know never will. And it’s our job to make sure that doesn’t happen.” – Adam Kinzinger (11:21)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:25-03:05: Explosive rate of senior official departures, acting appointments, and constitutional implications
• 03:10-06:05: The Venezuelan oil money mystery and lack of government transparency
• 06:10-08:18: Analysis of the Saudi nuclear deal and potential conflicts of interest
• 08:19-09:20: Trump’s remarks on deaths of US soldiers and Kinzinger’s fierce critique
• 09:25-11:21: Ossoff’s questioning, Trump’s response, and the administration’s intolerance of dissent

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Tone & Language

Kinzinger maintains a highly direct, matter-of-fact style, combining data-driven analysis with moral clarity. He expresses frustration at evasions and ethical lapses without slipping into hyperbole, and he draws clear lines between institutional norms and the conduct he sees as corrosive. His call for accountability and focus on “just asking questions they can’t answer” offers a practical path for both listeners and elected officials.

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For listeners seeking an unsparing look at recent controversies and the health of US democracy, this episode brims with context, concrete details, and actionable insight.

Transcript

[A]

I'm Adam Kinzinger, and you're listening to the Kinzinger Report, where I bring you top stories and analysis on current events and the growing threats to our democracy. After serving over a decade in Congress, I help you know what's true and what really matters so that we can all work to save this country that we love so much. Well, hey, everybody. Welcome back. Good to have you here. The top story today, the Trump administration is losing senior officials faster than under any modern president. 27 Senate confirmed officials have walked away in just 18 months. But the president is filling these positions with people the Senate isn't getting to vote on. We're also going to get into the $13 billion in Venezuelan oil money this administration has collected. But nobody can find the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, the president's stunning comments about our fallen troops, and a rally speech in Georgia that showed exactly how afraid this White House is of Jon Ossoff. Do me a favor. Like the video. Share it with somebody who needs to see it. Subscribe. You never want to miss an episode, and it makes you smart. So let's get right to it. Senior officials have been leaving this administration at a record pace, and the president is cutting corners to replace them. The Partnership for Public Service published an analysis yesterday, first reported by the Hill, 27 confirmed officials, Senate confirmed officials inside the Cabinet departments have left in the first 18 months of this term. At the same point in Trump's first term, it was 11. Under Bush, Obama, and Biden, the average was about four. These are not junior officials. The three cabinet secretaries, the heads of CDC, the FDA, the IRS, and the Department of the Navy. Four general counsels. The treasury alone lost six. And the big deal here is that they're mostly not being replaced. The president has made 578 nominations, fewer than any president since Reagan, and just 126 since this January 1st. It's worth noting that he said out loud in his first term, I like acting officials because they gave him, quote, more flexibility, which just means they don't need to be confirmed by the Senate. He can put anyone he likes in these jobs. Not based on merit, based on loyalty. And by the way, then they're begging for his approval. Senate confirmations are the one moment when somebody outside the administration gets to put a nominee under oath and ask what they actually believe. These acting officials got some of the most powerful jobs in government without answering to anybody. And clearly the president is in no rush to change that. We've all seen what happens when his people go in front of Congress. It does not go well. So, of course he doesn't want to put anyone else in the hot seat. Not because he cares about them, though. Because he cares about him. But this needs to change. Advice and consent is in the Constitution, and it's there for a reason. The founders did not build a check on presidential power thinking a president could get around the whole thing by sticking the word acting in front of a job title. That's not clever. That's a loophole. And Congress should close it. But will they? I don't know. Meanwhile, the government seems to have lost track of $13 billion from Venezuela. We have a debt. We could use it. This week, the Financial Times reported that the United States has taken in roughly $13 billion from Venezuelan oil sales this year. That's since we pulled Maduro out in January and Washington took control of the country's oil exports. $13 billion publicly, about 300 million of it can be traced arriving in the capital city of Caracas. The rest of it, though, well, we. We have no idea where it is. Secretary Rubio told Senate Foreign Relations the arrangement was short term with the money and an account in Qatar. In April, the State department said about 3 billion had gone back and that quarterly reports were coming. Since that, we've heard absolutely nothing else about it. Meanwhile, the President has said the money, quote, will be controlled by me and that the United States is, quote, making a lot of money off Venezuelan oil. And last night on a stage in Georgia, he offered this assessment of how it's all going.

[B]

Also, Venezuela is doing better than they've ever done before, too. The big oil companies are going in and they're signing up.

[A]

No, Venezuela is not doing better than it has ever done. Their first quarter GDP was. Was the worst in five years. A month ago, they were totally ravaged by two devastating earthquakes. But you know who is doing better? The President. The oil companies. They're pumping, they're selling, and the money's flowing, just not to Venezuela, and apparently not anywhere that the rest of us can see it. That's the part the President's paying attention to because that's the only part he cares about. It's pretty ignorant for the actual suffering to be glossed over, but it's no surprise there's bipartisan demand for answers here. Democrat Joaquin Castro said the operation was about oil and power from the beginning and that Congress has been kept in the dark. Meanwhile, Maria Salazar, the very pro Trump, by the way, said this week that there needs to be more transparency. Look, there's no conspiracy theory that's needed on this one, the President told us himself the money would be controlled by him. Well, it's been controlled by him, and now nobody can find it. They also can't keep their story straight on the Saudi nuclear deal that the White House signed yesterday. On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and the Saudi Energy Minister signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement along with a bilateral safeguard agreement, 30 years worth billions, with American companies at the center of the Saudi program. This isn't new territory. The US And Saudi Arabia have talked about nuclear cooperation across multiple administrations. But the terms are different this time, and the demands are, too. According to the report on the deal, it doesn't include the IAEA's additional protocol, which is basically just enhanced inspection. It doesn't include the ban on enrichment and reprocessing that the UAE accepted, which is one condition. People that call, they call it the gold standard, and it could allow an enrichment facility inside Saudi Arabia. Then Thursday morning, the President wrote that there will be no enrichment of material and that the deal pertains only to non military use, such as the ones that Iran, by the way, and UAE and others have, and that it is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. But the Energy Department's own announcement on Wednesday said nothing about the Abraham Accords, which could mean it's not actually part of the agreement. So the President attached a condition to a deal a day after it was done, and it happens to be the one condition the Saudis have refused for years, which is why we haven't gotten this. He says it's non military, like the programs Iran and UAE already have. They just aren't the same thing. The UAE gave up enrichment in writing. We told Iran that enrichment was a red line worth starting a war over. Clearly. Then we turned around and gave the country next door a path to the same thing. Now, maybe that doesn't hurt our negotiating position with Iran, but it sure doesn't help. And by the way, the Saudi government's wealth fund has $2 billion sitting in Jared Kushner's investment firm. The fund's own screening committee advised against it, but the Crown Prince overruled them. And in January, the same fund financed a $7 billion real estate deal with the Trump Organization. So the country that just got a nuclear deal with fewer safeguards than we've demanded of anyone in the region has also put billions into the President's family business. In any other administration, that would be a scandal. As the war in Iran continues, the President could not honor its cost without making it about himself. Over the past week, Iranian missiles and drones hit American bases across Jordan and Iraq. Four soldiers were killed. Brave Americans as young as 19. Yesterday afternoon, they came home and flag draped transfer cases at Dover Air Force Base. Before he attended that solemn homecoming. Listen to what the President told reporters about these fallen troops.

[B]

All of them said very strongly, we can't let. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. They won't have a nuclear weapon.

[A]

He never spoke to them, but he still put his own words in their mouth on the day their bodies returned home. A few hours later, he was at an event in Georgia with the family of one of the four in the crowd. And for some reason, he decided to say this.

[B]

When I go to Dover, I read charts on all of the young people. And some are unbelievable, some are a little bit, you know, they got a little bit of a little. Couple of little bad things put in.

[A]

Think about how that sounds to every Gold Star family in this country when your child comes home in a casket, the president opens a file and grades them. And if that's not disgusting enough, he's going to talk about it at a campaign rally. There's exactly one job for a commander in chief at Dover, and it's to stand there in silence and let the moment belong to somebody else. But Trump cannot do that. No matter the situation, he always makes it about his own self. And finally, the administration is panicking over simple questions. Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff has spent the last two weeks pressing every Trump official he can. It started when Jay Clayton, the president's nominee to run our national intelligence, wouldn't admit that his boss lost the 2020 election. And this week, as Iran proved that it can still hit back, Ossoff read Pete Hegseth his own words, declaring the military, quote, combat ineffective, and watched him squirm. They were simple questions. But those simple questions terrified the administration. With Ossoff on the ballot again this November, Trump went down to Georgia yesterday to campaign against him. Just listen to how scared he really sounds.

[B]

You're terrible. Senator John Ossoff. He's terrible. He reminds me of Pinky Herman. Do you ever see Pinky? He was easy to beat. He wasn't. I can't believe that he's a senator and he's not respected at all in Washington. You don't even hear his name mentioned. But you have a guy that is the most respected, just about one of the most respected people in Mike Collins. And I hope you're able to go out and really cast your vote for him.

[A]

He called the senator a Nobody. In a speech where he said his name over and over and in a state he flew down to in an attempt to unseat him? Sure, nobody. Congressman Mike Collins is Trump's preferred replacement, and it's clear why Trump likes him. Collins called Georgia's 2020 election legitimately rigged with he's long supported pardons for January 6th riot insurrectionist, and his son in law is a white nationalist influencer who spreads Nazi imagery online. So he really just checks all the boxes for Trump? Look, this is how the White House handles questions it can't answer. Who won in 2020? Did we actually defeat Iran? They know the answers, they just can't say them. So their plan is to get rid of the people who ask and replace them with yes men that they know never will. And it's our job to make sure that doesn't happen. And as a side note to the Democrats out there, maybe take a lesson from Jon Ossoff. When you ask questions of Trump administration officials, don't make it about you. Don't grandstand. Don't sit there and say the line that you think is going to get you on the news. Just ask questions they can't answer and make it clear. So that's it. That's the show for July 23rd. Do me a favor. Like share, subscribe, send it to someone who needs to see it. You never want to miss an episode. We'll catch you tomorrow.