Job Seekers With Trump White House on Their Résumés Face a Cold Reality

Others still are weighing their options.

Hope Hicks, a senior adviser who left the White House in 2018 and did get a major job as Fox Corporation’s chief communications officer before returning in March, has told people close to her that she plans to take an extended vacation.

Hogan Gidley, a former White House deputy press secretary and campaign spokesman whose duties recently included calling Mr. Trump the “most masculine” president in American history on Fox News, said he was considering “various things” and that he was not worried about the search ahead of him.

“I think it’s overblown,” Mr. Gidley said about the challenges he and his colleagues might face in the coming months. But then he paused. “Let me put it this way: I hope it’s overblown.”

While former aides contemplate their future in Washington, a small group of advisers will be staying by Mr. Trump’s side in Florida, assisting him in establishing his post-presidency presence.

The group of loyalists who have followed him includes Dan Scavino, a former White House deputy chief of staff for communications, and Nick Luna, Mr. Trump’s former body man. A wider group of aides, including Brian Jack, the former White House political director, are considering staying on in Trump land, but have not made final decisions yet.

Others, including Margo Martin, a former aide in the press office, and Molly Michael, an assistant to Mr. Trump, are government employees, paid for by the General Services Administration, and will help Mr. Trump with the transition process.

Over the weekend, as her former colleagues dealt with the cold reality of living in a Washington where the Democrats are now in charge, Ms. Martin posted a photo on Instagram of her surroundings at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s sun-drenched resort in Palm Beach, Fla.