Ofcourse he will fire lots of dead wood in this  term too .. in fact many departments altogether.. that exactly is the job 😃..

As far as judging competance is concerned - there is only one rule - boss decides.  He appreciates people wholeheartedly when they are good .. and he drops them when they are not .. .. He works smart and hard ..and he expects no less .. I don't understand why people get fired up of changes opinions based on performance.. 

Btw, I have never heard anyone praising his boss once they got fired :-)  ..so 

In the end , he job is not to keep his team happy .. it is to serve American tax payers who fund the gov ..