Donald Trump's right-hand woman Susie Wiles is cracking down on the Cabinet, ordering the President's inner circle to remain in the country ahead of what could be a GOP midterm bloodbath.
In a February meeting with Cabinet members and senior aides at the Capitol Hill Club, Wiles, who has been described as the 'Ice Queen,' told those in attendance that international travel should be undertaken only if necessary, sources told Politico.
The new directive mandated that all Cabinet-level trips abroad should be personally approved by Wiles, two sources shared.
The West Wing wants its cast of Trump-backers to hold back on travelling abroad as the midterm elections loom and as Republicans have sounded the alarm about getting walloped in November.
'All trips are run through Cabinet Affairs. The international ones are on a case-by-case basis, but they definitely want you to focus on domestic travel,' one of the individuals told the outlet.
An administration official told the Daily Mail that the White House has encouraged all Cabinet members to focus solely on domestic travel this year. The Cabinet has been under heightened scrutiny with the recent firings of Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi and Lori Chavez-Deremer.
The policy change came after several Cabinet officials made stops around the globe. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, for example, travelled to Japan, Brazil, Peru, India, Vietnam and the UK in 2025 to talk about crop exports and trade.
'It’s like, why is Brooke going to the UK?' another source told Politico. 'Susie has definitely been more direct in laying down the law.'
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has clamped down on Cabinet members' international travel, according to Politico
Wiles now personally oversees approval of international travel for Trump's Cabinet members
One source questioned the many international trips USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has taken overseas
Rollins pictured on a trip to the UK last year
A press release from March 2025 published by the USDA touted Rollins' 'Aggressive International Travel Agenda.'
'President Trump and his Cabinet will continue fighting to lower costs for working families and will be travelling across the country to tout the president’s commonsense agenda,' White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told the Daily Mail.
Sources also said the travel crackdown is not a targeted rebuke of Rollins or any Cabinet member specifically.
Instead, the directive is a part of a broader push to have Trump's surrogates focus on domestic political issues ahead of campaign season, sources told Politico.
Polling and predictive markets show that Democrats currently are favored to retake both chambers of Congress.
A spokesperson for the USDA defended the Secretary's travels in a statement to the Daily Mail.
'Secretary Rollins has taken an historic and unprecedented role to boost American market access and is constantly meeting with American exporters and key foreign government counterparts in key markets to ease trade barriers,' they said.
'USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg has visited over two dozen countries in the last year. We are unapologetically working with foreign governments to boost American ag exports.'