LAUGHINGSTOCK:

The process is bogged down as a result of micromanaging by the president and senior staff, turf wars between the West Wing and Cabinet secretaries and a largely inexperienced and overworked staff, say more than a dozen sources including administration insiders, lobbyists, lawyers and Republican strategists.

Trump personally oversees the hiring process for agency staff by insisting on combing through a binder full of names each week and likes to sign off on each one, according to two people with knowledge of the administration's hiring process. Also weighing in on the names -- and not always agreeing on final picks -- are leaders of sometimes warring factions, including chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior strategist Steve Bannon, Cabinet secretaries and, sometimes, the White House's top lawyer, Don McGahn.

"It's like a medieval court," said one person advising potential nominees through the confirmation process. "The White House meets once a week to go over personnel in some attempt to create uniformity, but in this White House, you just have to smile at that. ... It's hard to impose uniformity among the White House's different coalitions."

The only uniformity is that potential hires must show fealty to the president. One person close to the White House said a sense of "paranoia" has taken over amid fears that disloyal hires might undercut Trump's agenda or leak to the press.

Tweet   @brothersjudd