After departures, West Wing anxiety lingers
WASHINGTON — With a handshake and a presidential kiss on the cheek, Hope Hicks bid farewell to the White House on Thursday, the press-shy communications director taking a rare moment in the spotlight on her final day in Donald Trump’s administration.
The exit of the president’s most-trusted aide, coming one day after yet another Cabinet departure, highlights continuing uncertainty among Trump aides and the White House staff about who might be the next to go.
Hicks departed the administration on her own terms and was given a gracious goodbye by Trump outside the Oval Office. That stood in stark President Donald Trump kisses outgoing White House communications director Hope Hicks on her last day before he boards Marine One on his way to an appearance in Ohio. contrast to the White House treatment of David Shulkin, the Veterans Affairs secretary who was fired Wednesday amid ethics questions and replaced by a White House physician who has no experience running a bureaucracy or working with veterans.
As Trump allies defended the choice of Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, scrutiny quickly shifted to a number of other Cabinet members facing ethics questions and with strained relationships with the president, as well as the White House chief of staff, John Kelly, who has found his influence diminished.
Many close to the White House expect senior adviser Kellyanne Conway or press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to assume Hicks’ role, at least temporarily.