That was almost immediately apparent as the White House descended into multiple warring factions, with the Goldman alumni often in opposing camps. The flame-throwing impulses of Mr. Bannon, in particular, were often at odds with the more measured, pragmatic styles of Mr. Cohn and Ms. Powell. (Goldman veterans told me the Bannon persona that emerged during the campaign and at the White House bears little resemblance to the clean-cut, hard-working young mergers-and-acquisitions banker they remember.)

Mr. Bannon and Mr. Scaramucci both self-destructed in spectacular, un-Goldman-like fashion. Mr. Bannon was fired from his White House job last summer and fully excommunicated after publication this month of Michael Wolff’s tell-all book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which is filled with inflammatory quotes from Mr. Bannon.

Mr. Scaramucci lasted only 10 days as communications director last summer. He was dispatched after a colorful and expletive-laced rant to Ryan Lizza, who was then with The New Yorker, in which he denounced White House leakers and self-promoters, singling out Mr. Bannon in particular. (Mr. Scaramucci’s attack seems less ad hominem now that Mr. Bannon has emerged as Mr. Wolff’s main source.)

In far more dignified fashion, Ms. Powell announced her resignation in December, and her going-away party last week at Washington’s Cafe Milano featured a who’s who of Trump administration royalty, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Even then, the event was overshadowed by the mounting fallout from Mr. Trump’s incendiary comments earlier that day about Haiti and countries in Africa. Fortunately for Ms. Powell, she won’t be called upon to defend the remarks.