(CNN) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could barely contain himself as he stood in front of the White House press corps on Tuesday afternoon.

Hours before, national security adviser John Bolton, with whom Pompeo had repeatedly clashed, had been fired via Twitter by President Donald Trump. Pompeo had won, and he was taking a bit of a victory lap.

"There were many times Ambassador Bolton and I disagreed, that's to be sure," Pompeo said. "But that's true for lots of people with whom I interact." Later, when asked whether he was surprised by Bolton's firing, Pompeo deadpanned: "I'm never surprised."

What struck me most watching Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin live -- the briefing was scheduled to also include Bolton until Trump fired him -- was how much of a there-but-for-the-grace-of-Trump situation every single member of the President's Cabinet finds themselves in every single day.

Trump has already jettisoned nine Cabinet secretaries in less than three years. And that doesn't include his three national security advisers, six communications directors and a variety of other senior staff firings and resignations. (Trump has already gotten rid of more Cabinet officials in under three years than any president in the last 40 years, according to statistics kept by Kathryn Dunn Tenpas at Brookings .)

Read More