The 14 are, of course, the most interesting for our purposes, with their departures labeled in the report by the slightly ominous acronym “RUP.” Some of the better-known ones: Sean Spicer, the little-mourned (except by reporters who now have to deal with Sarah Huckabee Sanders) first press secretary; Reince Priebus, the first chief of staff; the alt-rightist Steve Bannon; and the tell-all memoirist Omarosa Manigault.

The 65 percent turnover rate for the first two years is considerably higher overall than that of Mr. Trump’s five immediate predecessors. In Barack Obama’s first two years, his A Team turnover rate was 24 percent (Mr. No Drama!). George W. Bush’s rate was 33 percent. Bill Clinton’s was 38 percent. George H.W. Bush’s was 25 percent. And Ronald Reagan’s was 57 percent, his year-two turnover rate being actually just a bit higher than Mr. Trump’s.

With respect to the second category of appointees tracked in the Brookings study, Cabinet officials, here again Mr. Trump had the most departures. He lost 12 Cabinet secretaries in his first two years, according to the study (released before Mr. Mattis made 13). Mr. Obama lost four, Mr. Clinton six, and Mr. Bush the younger just one. Of the 12, eight were RUPs, and many of them left in quite dramatic fashion: Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency who leased a townhouse from a lobbyist for around one-third the going market rate, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was on the receiving end of torrents of presidential Twitter abuse until he finally said “enough.”

These numbers, while interesting, are not especially surprising to anyone who follows the news. The Trump administration is, to employ a seasonal metaphor, an island of misfit toys . And it’s presided over by a mercurial and minatory chief executive who can’t be easy to work for on a number of levels. (He doesn’t listen to people, he might turn on you in a flash, etc.)

Add to all that the fact of the Robert Mueller investigation, which veritably ensures that anyone who accepts a White House position today will spend years paying for the pleasure. First, literally, as any Trump White House aide is bound to need to lawyer up and eventually pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills. And second, reputationally; that parachute on which officials of administrations from both parties typically float off to lush corporate sinecures is, in this administration, made not of gold but of lead.