Hope Hicks Quitting As White House Communications Director One Day After Testifying To House Intel Committee
Rex/Shutterstock Add another name to the long list of former Donald Trump administration staffers. ..
Rex/Shutterstock
Add another name to the long list of former Donald Trump administration staffers. Hope Hicks, the White House communications director who has been part of Trump’s inner circle since he launched his presidential bid in June 2015, announced her resignation today — one day after testifying before the House Intelligence Committee.
The New York Times is reporting today that Hicks, a 29-year-old ex-model who had no political experience before joining the Trump campaign, had been comtemplating an exit for months.
Trump issued a statement about her exit, saying: Hope is outstanding and has done great for me the last three years. She is as smart and as thoughtful as come, a truly great person. I will miss having her by my side, but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I told her I fully understood. I’m sure we will work together in the future.”
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said of Hicks’ exit, “To say that she will be missed is an understatement.”
Hicks, who is very close to the president, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, spent eight hours testifying before the House intel panel Tuesday. By all accounts she hardly was forthcoming — declining to answer questions while admitting under oaths that she sometimes was required to “white lies” to the press. It was an extraordinary admission for a White House communications chief.
Hicks’ announcement comes one day after Josh Raffel, Kushner’s White Huse communications director and a former head of PR Blumhouse, resigned his post.
Hicks has been described as a “Trump whisperer” — someone who “gets” him and has an idea of how to manage him. She has been as the candidate-turned-POTUS’ side throughout this wild 2 1/2-year ride, providing counsel and having a desk just outside the Oval Office.
