Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, on Sunday publicly warned administration staff that they needed to either work with the Trump agenda or leave their positions.
His comments came after reports that Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, discussed wearing a wire and recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th amendment in the days following the firing of James Comey, the FBI director.
The 25th amendment allows for the removal of the president from office if he or she was deemed unfit to carry out duties.
In a thinly-veiled attack raising further questions over whether Mr Trump would fire Mr Rosenstein, Mr Pompeo suggested that White House officials should find "something else to do" if they do not support President Trump’s agenda.
"I’ve been pretty clear since my beginning of service here in this administration, if you can’t be on the team, if you’re not supporting this mission, then maybe you ought to find something else to do,” he said.
SAUL LOEB/ AFP
"I’ve told that to my senior colleagues, I’ve told it to junior folks at the CIA, and the State Department; we need everyone who’s engaged in helping achieve President Trump’s mission.
"And I hope that everyone in every agency: DOJ, FBI, State Department is on that mission.”
"If you’re not, you should take this time to do something more productive," he said.
Mr Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller investigation, denied making the comments which were leaked from memos written by Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director.
“I never pursued or authorized recording the president, and any suggestion that I have ever advocated for the removal of the president is absolutely false."
According to reports, senior Republicans have convinced a furious Mr Trump not to axe Mr Rosenstein, at least until the midterms are over for fear of negative blowback from voters.
The GOP is also concerned firing him may further jeopordise the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court which remains of a knife edge with news that Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexual assault, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Dr Ford’s lawyers last night confirmed the appointment on Sunday night.
“We committed to moving forward with an open hearing on Thursday September 27 at 10am,” Dr Ford’s attorneys said in a statement.
A Fox News poll released on Sunday showed support for Mr Trump’s pick was wavering among the public with just 40 per cent of voters saying they would confirm, down five per cent from a month ago.