Hicks' departure capped her meteoric rise from Trump Organization communications aide to the upper crust of power in Washington in just a few years, during which Hicks sought to maintain a remarkably low profile for someone in her position.
Her resignation will undoubtedly reverberate for months to come inside the West Wing, where Trump will find himself for the first time in more than three years without the constant presence of his most loyal aide -- who is among the handful of aides who worked with Trump at his company, during the rollicking campaign and into the White House.
Hicks' resignation came a day after she testified before the House Intelligence Committee and said she had told white lies in the course of her duties, though there was no indication the two were connected. A source familiar with her thinking said she first seriously considered resigning in the wake of the scandal involving former senior aide Rob Porter, whose public defense Hicks helped craft while also dating him at the time.
A tearful Hicks announced her departure to the White House communications team Wednesday afternoon, a source inside the room told CNN. She referenced how many years she had worked for Trump, said she has always wanted the best for him and that she felt like now was the right time to go -- which some in the room took as a reference to the speculation she's leaving in light of her testimony. She thanked the team and said she will miss them all.
Hicks won't leave immediately but she expected to depart in the next few weeks.
The President, who one source said found out on Wednesday that she had made a final decision to leave, praised Hicks as "outstanding."
"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," Trump said in a written statement on Wednesday.
In a statement, Hicks thanked Trump and the administration, saying: "There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump. I wish the President and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country."
Void created
It was not immediately clear who will replace Hicks as White House communications director -- a position that has now been filled by four individuals -- but some of Hicks' duties have increasingly been filled over the last two months by Mercedes Schlapp , the senior adviser for strategic communications. While Hicks was busy fighting the crisis of the day at the President's side or meeting with her lawyers, Schlapp stepped in to lead the communications team, sources told CNN earlier this month.
Regardless of who replaces her, the White House will be hard-pressed to find another aide who understands the President and knows how to work with him as well as Hicks does. Trump allies digested the news with surprise, finding it hard to imagine Trump without Hicks at his side.
"I'm just floored," one Trump ally said. "I don't think it's possible to overstate the significance and just the importance of her role within the White House. She's an invaluable team member and one of the originals."
Multiple sources insisted Wednesday that Hicks was in no way forced out of her position, but Hicks' close relationship with Trump at times chafed at the strict protocols Kelly has sought to impose. But Hick's access to Trump was never really in question, despite Kelly's efforts to streamline the access of other top officials, the people said.
But Hicks and Kelly enjoyed an amiable working relationship and did not feud in the way the retired Marine general has with other top officials, people familiar with their dynamic said.
Kelly's initial concern with Hicks was the uncertain nature of her role when he took over in July. He pushed to have her assume the duties of communications director to better define her position and place her within the West Wing hierarchy.
Path ahead
JUST WATCHED Hope Hicks becomes the story Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Hope Hicks becomes the story 11:30
At just 29, Hicks is now expected to return to the private sector with the heading of former White House communications director, a label of prestige that can unlock top positions at blue chip companies, six-figure TV deals and profitable, best-selling books.
Some of those could be in the offing for Hicks, who has remained a mystery to many Americans despite her proximity to power and influential role.
But Hicks will not exit the White House unstained, having drawn the scrutiny of special counsel Robert Mueller over her role in crafting the misleading statement about Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign.
Hicks was one of the White House officials involved in crafting the statement aboard Air Force One that claimed Trump Jr., the President's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort took the meeting with the lawyer primarily to discuss US policy on Russian adoptions -- rather than because Trump Jr. believed the lawyer would provide incriminating information on Clinton from the Russian government.
Hicks also came under fire more recently over her involvement in crafting the White House's initial defense of Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary who resigned in disgrace after two of his ex-wives publicly accused him of domestic abuse.
Hicks, who at the time was dating Porter, did not recuse herself from the matter. Instead, she urged other White House officials to put out a robust defense of Porter in the face of the allegations
Hicks was one of Trump's first hires as he assembled a lean team of aides who would launch his improbable presidential campaign. From then until his election, she was a constant presence by his side -- traveling to nearly every rally, hovering within earshot during interviews and always prepared to type out a bombastic tweet as dictated by her boss.
Hicks, who first entered the White House as director of strategic communications, rose to the position of communications director after her predecessor Anthony Scaramucci flamed out in just 10 days, after attacking fellow White House aides in a vulgarity-laden interview.
The pick marked a 180-degree turn from the White House's earlier attempts to install a seasoned Republican strategist in the communications director post and was a tacit acknowledgment that wooing such a candidate was likely not in the cards.
The Greenwich, Connecticut, native officially entered Trump's orbit in 2014, after the President's daughter Ivanka Trump poached Hicks from the public affairs firm where Trump had been a client. Soon enough, Hicks was working directly for the family patriarch at the Trump Organization and he asked her in 2015 to join his campaign as his press secretary.
(CNN) Here's how Hope Hicks explained her decision to resign as White House communications director, according to The New York Times' Maggie Haberman, who broke the story :
"She told colleagues that she had accomplished what she felt she could with a job that made her one of the most powerful people in Washington, and that there would never be a perfect moment to leave."
So, no.
Whatever the opposite of the perfect time to leave the White House is -- the "imperfect time"? -- this is it.
Hicks is not only the third Trump White House communications director to resign in just over a year, but she also leaves:
* One day after she spent hours testifying in front of the House Intelligence Committee regarding its investigation into Russia's attempted meddling in the 2016 presidential election. In that testimony, Hicks acknowledged that she sometimes told white lies for Trump but insisted that she had never done so in regard to the Russia investigation.
* Amid a security clearance crisis that caused White House staff secretary Rob Porter's resignation. Porter, who was romantically involved with Hicks, stands accused of domestic abuse by both of his ex-wives. Those allegations, which Porter denied, had kept him from gaining a permanent security clearance. Which meant that Porter was operating with an interim clearance, despite handling oodles of top secret and classified information in his role as staff secretary. But, wait, there's more! Hicks was deeply involved in the crafting of chief of staff John Kelly's initial defense of Porter, despite her romantic ties to the now-former aide.
Hicks' departure is another major negative story amid that laundry list. Whatever you thought of her credentials to be the head of the White House's communications operation -- Hicks had little practical experience in dealing with the media -- there is no debate that she was one of the few aides who Trump trusted totally.
Hicks had been part of the original Trump campaign staff alongside the likes of Corey Lewandowski and Dan Scavino. She was with Trump before anyone even thought he had a chance. She believed in him when everyone else was laughing at him. And that sort of loyalty goes a very, very long way with Trump.
"I don't think it's possible to overstate the significance and just the importance of her role within the White House," one Trump ally told CNN's Jeremy Diamond . "She's an invaluable team member and one of the originals."
Remember that Trump tends to view the world in very stark terms: those who are loyal to him (very few people) and those who are out to get him (everyone else). Hicks was very much in the former category.
"She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person," Trump said of Hicks in a statement released by the White House.
Simply put: This is a White House in crisis. Hicks' departure adds to that sense that the sky is falling around and on Trump. There's no spin to put out that. You can't polish a turd. And when you try to, it tends to get all over the place.
“Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years,” Mr. Trump said. “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.”
But as the person who spent the most time with Mr. Trump, Ms. Hicks became enmeshed in a number of controversies over the past year, including key aspects of the investigations by Congress and the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into possible collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.
Her resignation came a day after she testified for eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee, telling the panel that in her job, she had occasionally been required to tell white lies but had never lied about anything connected to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
And in recent weeks, her personal life drew attention when it was reported that she had dated Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary who resigned under pressure over allegations that he had abused his two former wives.
Multiple White House aides said that Ms. Hicks’s leaving the White House was unrelated to her appearance before the House committee. They said that she had told a small group of people in the days before the session that she had planned to resign.
Ms. Hicks’s departure will coincide with those of other people who have been close to the Trump family members in the White House. Reed Cordish, a policy adviser and friend of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, is leaving his role; Josh Raffel, a press aide whose initial portfolio was primarily focused on Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump, is also leaving; and Dina Powell, who had been a deputy national security adviser who was close to Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump, left weeks ago.
Their absence will deprive Mr. Trump and his daughter and son-in-law of many of the aides who served as crucial buffers and sounding boards as a turbulent and politically uncertain year begins.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Among the things Ms. Hicks had advised Mr. Trump, according to multiple White House officials, was to tone down some of his Twitter posts or stop sending them altogether, an effort that had mixed results. She also had the ability to stop Mr. Trump from focusing on an issue he was angry about, and sometimes shield other members of the staff from Mr. Trump’s anger.
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Get the Morning Briefing by Email What you need to know to start your day, delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
While Ms. Hicks and Mr. Kelly developed a functional relationship, he considered her access to the president to be a challenge to the command-and-control system he tried to enforce, according to several White House aides.
But on Wednesday, Mr. Kelly echoed the president’s praise.
“I quickly realized what so many have learned about Hope: She is strategic, poised and wise beyond her years,” Mr. Kelly said. “She became a trusted adviser and counselor, and did a tremendous job overseeing the communications for the president’s agenda including the passage of historic tax reform.”
As communications director, Ms. Hicks worked to stabilize, to some extent, a fractious press department of about 40 people who were often at odds with one another in 2017. She maintained one of the lowest public profiles of anyone to ever hold the job, declining to sit for interviews or appear on the podium in the White House briefing room.
Even those in the West Wing who did not like her approach feared her power, and worried about crossing her. But some former Trump advisers sounded hopeful that a new staff configuration might create a more consistent approach to governing, in contrast to the way the White House has functioned for the past year, when people close to the president could easily influence him.
Dan Scavino Jr., the White House digital director, is the only member of the president’s original campaign team still working directly for Mr. Trump.
It was not immediately clear who will fill Ms. Hicks’s role, although several White House officials and external advisers said they expect that Mercedes Schlapp — who Mr. Kelly brought in as a ballast against Ms. Hicks’s influence when he took over the job — will be elevated in some way.
Ms. Hicks had been considering leaving the White House for several months. She told colleagues that she had accomplished what she felt she could with a job that made her one of the most powerful people in Washington, and that there would never be a perfect moment to leave, according to White House aides. Ms. Hicks told the president of her plans on Wednesday afternoon.
Her departure date was unclear, but it is likely to be in the next few weeks. She has not said what she will do next.
White House communications director Hope Hicks will resign, the White House confirmed Wednesday afternoon. The New York Times first reported her impending departure -- it is unclear when exactly she will leave, although it will be soon.
"There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump," Hicks said in a statement. "I wish the president and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country."
Hicks' departure comes a day after she testified before the House Intelligence Committee, and a day after it was reported that White House deputy communications director Josh Raffel is leaving the White House.
Who is Hope Hicks?
Hicks, 29, has been a central piece of the Trump operation since the beginning of the presidential campaign. Hicks entered the Trump campaign with no real political experience. Her family was friends with the Trumps, and she was once a model for Ralph Lauren. But her ability to navigate the unpredictability that comes with being a part of the Trump orbit made her one of the president's closest confidantes. Mr. Trump said he will "miss having her by my side."
"Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person," the president said in a statement. "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."
What is Hope Hicks' relationship to White House controversies?
Hicks' proximity to Mr. Trump has made her of particular interest to special counsel Robert Mueller and the congressional intelligence committees as they investigate Russian election meddling and any ties to Trump associates. Hicks provided limited information to the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, when she sat before the committee for nine hours. Ranking member Adam Schiff, D-California, said Hicks' refusal to answer the committee's questions about her time in the White House made for "a breathtakingly broad claim of privilege that I don't think any court would sustain, and I think the White House knows that."
The media-shy Hicks was thrust into the spotlight last month after allegations surfaced that then-White House staff secretary Rob Porter had abused his ex-wives. Hicks, at the time, was dating Porter, and was involved in crafting an initial statement defending him. But as photos of the alleged abuse emerged, scrutiny on Hicks and White House chief of staff John Kelly intensified, and Porter resigned.
Hicks is the fourth White House communications director to leave the post in barely a year. Her predecessors included Sean Spicer, Anthony Scaramucci and Michael Dubke.
Where is she going, and who will take her place?
It's unclear at this point who will be the next communications director. It's likely an interim communications director will be selected in the meantime.
While Mr. Trump said she is turning to other opportunities, it's unclear what that will be. The White House did not say.
