Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
White House aide out
Communications director exiting
WASHINGTON — Michael Dubke, the White House communications director, announced Tuesday that he was resigning, as President Donald Trump considers a broader shakeup of his staff in the face of multiple investigations.
Dubke, a veteran Republican strategist who served three months in the role, said he offered his resignation May 18 and agreed to stay on until Trump compl e t - ed his first overseas trip, which ended over the weekend. Other staff changes could come by the end of the week, White House officials said.
The president’s inner circle has been preparing a series of shifts intended to deal with the growing inquiries into any possible contacts between associates of Trump and Russia during last year’s presidential campaign and the transition before his inauguration.
A damage-control plan assembled by the president’s aides would try to wall off the investigations by setting up a war room inside the White House and
enlisting a high- powered team of lawyers outside the West Wing.
Corey Lewandowski, who at one point last year was Trump’s campaign manager, and David Bossie, who was deputy campaign manager, are in discussions about whether to join the White House staff to handle the political and communications response to the inquiries, according to advisers to Trump.
Both Lewandowski and Bossie visited the White House on Monday night, according to two people familiar with the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private get-together.
But it remains unclear whether the president might envision them working inside the White House or in outside roles.
Bossie told Fox & Friends that the administration has reached out to him but hasn’t offered him a job.
“They have talked to many people, including me,” Bossie said. He later added: “It’s an ongoing conversation, and that’s a fair way to put it.”
Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, whose future has been the subject of much speculation, would stay on in this situation, but he might lead fewer on-camera daily briefings, the advisers said.
Another person whose name has been raised as a possible addition to the president’s team is David Urban, a prominent Republican lobbyist, who also spent time advising Trump’s campaign and has remained a trusted adviser.
While the president was overseas, Trump’s longtime lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, joined a still-forming legal team to help the president shoulder the intensifying investigations into Russian interference in the election and Trump associates’ potential involvement. More attorneys with deep experience in Washington investigations are expected to be added in the weeks ahead.
‘FRIENDLY DEPARTURE’
Dubke, a veteran of national politics for a quarter-century, was among the aides who have struggled to impose discipline on the president. Dubke met his wife working on President George H.W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 1992, advised Rick Perry when he was governor of Texas, bought advertising for Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign and served as the main consultant for Sen. Dan Sullivan when he ousted as an incumbent in Alaska in 2014.
He founded Crossroads Media, a media-buying company, and helped found the Black Rock Group, a public relations firm. Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, asked Dubke to remain on the job a few more days to ease the transition. Dubke’s last day on the job has not been determined.
Dubke’s resignation was first reported by Mike Allen of Axios in his Tuesday morning newsletter.
“The reasons for my departure are personal, but it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration,” Dubke said in a message to friends on Tuesday. “It has also been my distinct pleasure to work side by side, day by day with the staff of the communications and press departments. This White House is filled with some of the finest and hardest working men and women in the American government.”
In a brief interview, Dubke declined to elaborate on his reasons for leaving. “This is as friendly a departure as one could have,” he said.
Priebus issued his own statement thanking Dubke for his service. “Mike will assist with the transition and be a strong advocate for the president and the president’s policies moving forward,” Priebus said.
The communications operation — and Dubke and Spicer specifically — have come under sharp criticism from Trump and many senior officials in the West Wing, who believe the president has been poorly served by his staff, in particular in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey as FBI director.
Trump has privately and publicly pinned much of the blame for his administration’s woes on the communications effort.
“In terms of messaging, I would give myself a C or a C plus,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News Channel early in his term. “In terms of achievement, I think I’d give myself an A. Because I think I’ve done great things, but I don’t think I have — I and my people, I don’t think we’ve explained it well enough to the American public.”
Spicer pushed back Tuesday on the idea that a broader reorganization was imminent, but he acknowledged the president is frustrated with news stories “that are absolutely false, that are not based in fact. That is troubling.”
Spicer said he thinks the president “is very pleased with his team,” but he added, “Ultimately the best messenger is the president himself. He’s always proven that.”
Dubke, who has worked closely with Spicer, served as a behind-the-scenes player helping manage communications strategy and responses to events such as the Comey firing , as well as rollout plans for policy and other initiatives.
Dubke was the rare Trump newcomer in the White House, arriving in mid-February, a few weeks into Trump’s term.
Jason Miller, the Trump campaign’s senior communications adviser, was set to serve as communications director in the White House, but he stepped aside a few weeks before Inauguration Day, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
During the first few weeks of the presidency, Spicer held the dual roles of press secretary and communications director, but it became too much for him. Dubke was then hired to fulfill the communications director responsibilities.
The communications operation — and Dubke and Spicer specifically — have come under sharp criticism from Trump and many senior officials in the West Wing, who believe the president has been poorly served by his staff, in particular in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey as FBI director.