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.
"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.
(CNN) White House communications director Hope Hicks, who on Wednesday announced she plans to leave the White House, testified to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that she has told what amounted to white lies for President Donald Trump.
Three sources from both parties with knowledge of her testimony told CNN that she was talking about small matters -- like telling people Trump was in a meeting when he wasn't. Hicks' larger point was that she argued she didn't lie on bigger substantive issues like those involving the Russia investigation, the sources said.
When Rep. Pete King, R-New York, asked her if those white lies meant spinning news favorably for her boss, as any press secretary does, she concurred, according to the sources.
The back-and-forth over lies started when a lawmaker pressed Hicks on whether she had ever lied for the President. Her acknowledgment apparently caused some concern among her attorneys, with whom she consulted for roughly 20 minutes during that line of questioning, the sources said.
Hicks' testimony spanned more than nine hours on Tuesday, and she addressed a range of questions about the 2016 campaign and some queries about the transition -- after prodding from lawmakers -- though she would not discuss her time in the White House.
Read More
At the conclusion of a panel discussion on the resignation of White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, CNN host Don Lemon said "Trump supporters" who are watching "state-run" 'Trump TV,' referring to FOX News, don't even know about her departure because the channel is not covering it nor the "White House imploding behind him." (UPDATE: Don Lemon said he misspoke.)
FOX News Covers Hope Hicks Resignation: Cavuto, The Five, Special Report, MacCallum, Tucker, Hannity
"I was sitting in my office and was watching all the news channels, right -- Trump TV or state-run TV, they're not even reporting this," Lemon said Wednesday night. "So, Trump supporters, they don't even know about these stories, it doesn't even register, that's the amazing thing. We cover all of these things every day. The White House imploding behind him, and he's standing there going, 'nothing to see here."
"His supporters probably don't even realize the extent of it," Lemon lamented.
UPDATE 3/1: FOX News did cover Hope Hicks' resignation at least 3 times before Lemon's 10pm show.
White House correspondent John Roberts announced the news on Neil Cavuto's show.
Chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reported the news on Special Report.
The Special Report panel discussed the news.
FNC's Roberts tweeted Thursday: "WE REPORTED IT MULTIPLE TIMES. I REPORTED IT ON NEIL CAVUTO'S SHOW - AND ON THE FIVE. AND AGAIN AT THE TOP OF THE 6PM SHOW. AND WE DID IT AT THE TOP OF THE 7PM SHOW. CLEARLY SOMEONE IS NOT WATCHING FOX, BUT SAYING THEY ARE."
WE REPORTED IT MULTIPLE TIMES. I REPORTED IT ON NEIL CAVUTO'S SHOW - AND ON THE FIVE. AND AGAIN AT THE TOP OF THE 6PM SHOW. AND WE DID IT AT THE TOP OF THE 7PM SHOW. CLEARLY SOMEONE IS NOT WATCHING FOX, BUT SAYING THEY ARE. https://t.co/Jdci8XRezL — John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) March 1, 2018
