WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior administration official penned an anonymous essay in The New York Times on Wednesday describing President Donald Trump as erratic and amoral and said his aides were actively working to thwart him on decisions that are detrimental to the nation.
"It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t," the unnamed official wrote.
The piece, entitled "I am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," was written by a senior official in the Trump administration, according to the Times. The newspaper said it was not disclosing the identity of the author because doing so would jeopardize that person's job.
The White House did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on the piece, but White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and other aides were huddling in her office to examine the story.
Reporters gathered at the White House in a frenzy in hopes of getting some reaction to the publication of the essay.
The piece chronicles the work of the anonymous writer, along with other "senior officials" in the administration, who dub themselves part of a "quiet resistance" to the president to "frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations."
"But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic," the piece states. "That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office."
The timing of the piece came a day after excerpts were published from a forthcoming book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward that depicted chaos inside the White House and efforts by aides to prevent the president from taking actions they viewed as irresponsible. The book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," included details of Trump's top aides removing documents from the president's desk or hiding paperwork.
The official said there had been whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would allow the vice president to take over if a commander in chief becomes disabled.
"But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis," the official wrote. "So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until – one way or another – it’s over."
The senior official described Trump as "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective."
"The erratic behavior would be more concerning if it weren’t for unsung heroes in and around the White House," the author wrote. "Some of his aides have been cast as villains by the media. But in private, they have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing, though they are clearly not always successful."
