White House deputy press secretary T.J. Ducklo recently resigned, barely a month into his new job. Ducklo had berated a Politico reporter who had questioned the status of Ducklo’s personal relationship with another reporter.

Ducklo’s brief tenure was certainly unusual but not without precedent in White House history. Given the high stakes involved, it’s not surprising that internal jockeying and outside lobbying have occasionally scuttled prominent appointments shortly after those appointments took place. And since personnel is policy, such changes can mean a sharp U-turn in direction with ripple effects often seen fully only in hindsight.