George H.W. Bush fired the assistant secretary of state responsible for passports (Consular Affairs) when Bill Clinton’s passport file was sought inappropriately during the 1992 presidential election campaign. I remember because I inventoried the contents of the fired woman’s desk to determine what was hers and what was ours (she wasn’t even allowed to enter the building). Many are appointed by the president, few have the distinction of being fired.
It will be interesting to see if the current circumstances are political, and if so if Jr. will act as appropriately as his father did.