The early days of the Trump presidency saw a chaotic, and unsustainable, frenzy of activity. The door to the Oval Office was always open, and Donald Trump was more than happy to crowdsource his decision-making, soliciting input from a wide range of friends, staffers, confidants, and even Mar-a-Lago club members, whom he polled for advice on whether to fire Reince Priebus or Sean Spicer. Warring West Wing factions of “nationalists” and “globalists” fought for Trump’s attention, often slipping him misleading news stories to manipulate his moods and advance their own priorities.

Since the introduction of John Kelly as chief of staff, however, a wall has come down around the president. The door to the Oval Office has been closed, chaos agents like Stephen Bannon and Sebastian Gorka have been removed, and information streams are being strictly vetted. The result, in the wake of Trump’s post-Charlottesville repudiation by Washington, is a new level of isolation, leaving both the president and his would-be interlocutors frustrated. Former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton wrote in an introduction to an op-ed published Monday that he was publishing his plan for the United States to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal because he could find no other way to get in touch with the president. “Staff changes have made presenting it to President Trump impossible,” Bolton, whose name was previously floated for a number of foreign policy and national security positions in the Trump administration, complained. “Although he was once kind enough to tell me ‘come in and see me any time,’ those days are now over.”

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Bolton isn’t the only victim of Kelly’s crackdown in the West Wing. In his four short weeks as chief of staff, the retired Marine Corps general has overseen the ouster of Anthony Scaramucci, whose tenure as communications director famously lasted a mere 10 days, and a purge of the White House’s nationalist-populist faction. The president also continues to marginalize himself by alienating his own party. Trump’s decision to double down on his stance that “both sides” were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville—and that there were “very fine people” among the white nationalists who rallied around a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee—was immediately met by criticism. Perhaps most notably, it prompted a Cabinet secretary and a top administration official to publicly rebuke him. Last week, Gary Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, condemned the White House for its response to the neo-Nazi gathering, saying it “must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups.” On Sunday, when asked during an interview with Fox News whether the president represents American values, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responded, “The president speaks for himself.”

In the pre-Kelly era, Trump might have scolded his staff. Politico reports that Trump has “fumed privately” about Tillerson and Cohn’s remarks. But facing eroding support on Capitol Hill and an exodus of West Wing allies to Breitbart, the president is in no position to lose two high-ranking members of his administration:

The president, whose approval ratings have dropped into the 30-percent range and who has lost a raft of senior staff members, is loath to get rid of anyone right now, one adviser said. Some close to Trump note that he needs Cohn and Tillerson, seen as stabilizing forces in his administration, more than they need him at this point.

This reality is only amplified by the growing willingness among Republicans in Congress to publicly rebuke Trump. His decision to pardon Joe Arpaio on Friday—mere weeks after the events in Charlottesville—incited a fresh wave of criticism from G.O.P. lawmakers. Senator John McCain wrote on Twitter that Trump’s pardon “undermines his claim of respect for the law.” A spokesperson for Paul Ryan said, “The speaker does not agree with this decision. Law enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the rights of everyone in the United States.”

These defections matter, especially as special prosecutor Robert Mueller and congressional investigators close in on Trump. The list of Trump associates ensnared in the F.B.I. investigation continues to grow, just as lawmakers are uncovering fresh correspondence between Trump campaign staffers and individuals with ties to the Russian government. While Mueller, in his investigative role, cannot bring impeachment charges against Trump, he can recommend them to Congress. And if the ongoing Justice Department investigation reaches that threshold, Trump’s fate will rest in the hands of Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, with whom Trump is reportedly not even on speaking terms.

Trump’s estrangement is unusual at such an early stage of his presidency, and likely to get worse. As his inner circle gets smaller and his allies turn away, Trump’s frustrations will continue to mount. The un-virtuous cycle almost guarantees that his control over the West Wing, to say nothing of Capitol Hill, is weakening.