Longtime Trump aide resigns post
Communications director latest to exit White House
White House Communications Director Hope Hicks — one of President Trump’s most trusted aides — will soon leave the administration, ending one of the longest runs in an inner circle with frequent turnover.
Hicks’ resignation, which won’t take effect for another few weeks, came just a day after she delivered some nine hours of testimony behind closed doors to the House Intelligence Committee as part of its ongoing Rus- sia probe.
After the hearing, Hicks acknowledged she had told “white lies” for Trump from time to time, but none about issues concerning the Russia investigation.
The New York Times, which first reported Hicks’ departure, cited “multiple White House aides” who claimed her exit was unrelated to her testimony and that she had, in fact, spoken about leaving days before appearing before the committee.
Hicks also told aides there would never be a perfect time to go, but she felt she had accomplished all she could, according to the Times.
Hicks began her career with Trump as an employee in the Trump Organization, before taking on the duties of press secretary when the billionaire launched his long-shot presidential campaign in 2015.
Hicks, a former model who grew up in Greenwich, Conn., survived for more than a year in a White House that was rocked by scandal and controversy, prompting the resignations and firings of nearly everyone in the Trump inner orbit who began on Inauguration Day and is not a relative.
Trump heaped high praise onto Hicks in a statement released yesterday.
“Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years,” Trump said, according to The Washington Post. “She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person. I will miss having her by my side, but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I totally understood. I am sure we will work together again in the future.”
‘She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person. I will miss having her by my side ... . ’
— PRESIDENT TRUMP on the resignation of Hope Hicks