Ignore personnel gossip entirely. Focus attention on the judge's SNAP ruling, the insider trading pardon, and the Social Security records whistleblower allegation—all from this same week with actual governance consequences.
Pure palace intrigue with zero constitutional or governance impact. A denial of departure rumors has no policy mechanism, affects no institutions, and creates no legal precedent. The event scores moderately on distraction metrics due to media-friendliness and timing overlap with substantive events (judge halting SNAP conditions, insider trading pardon, whistleblower allegations), but ultimately qualifies as noise—spectacle without substance.