Senior White House Official Placed On Leave After Trashing Trump In Sting Operation
Rebeka Zeljko
National Correspondent
May 12, 2026 3:13 PM ET
The White House placed a top administration official on leave after an undercover sting operation revealed his deep disdain for President Donald Trump.
Benjamin Ellisten, a senior budget analyst and funding manager for the White House, told James O’Keefe’s undercover journalist that Trump is a “madman” who is “f*cking it up for everybody.” Ellisten, who has worked at the White House since 2024, according to O’Keefe’s reporting, has since been placed on administrative leave, a White House official told the Daily Caller.
“He has no direct access to the President or Senior Staff, and does not work on the White House campus,” the official told the Caller. “Such views expressed by the individual are not reflective of patriots who admirably serve in the Administration.”
Ellisten was caught telling O’Keefe’s reporter that Trump is a “mess,” saying they “gotta get rid of him.”
“He’s a madman,” Ellisten told the undercover journalist. “Literally. He’s invincible. Nothing can stop him, and that’s dangerous.”
Ellisten also criticized Trump’s leadership style, calling him “erratic” and “scary.”
“The way his decisions are so erratic, you would think he drinks,” Ellisten said. “He doesn’t drink. And that’s what makes it so dangerous, that someone could be of sound mind and body, totally coherent, could just be so reckless in their decision-making. That’s scary.”
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https://dailycaller.com/2026/05/12/white-house-official-benjamin-ellisten-leave-trashing-trump-sting-operation-okeefe/