While Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle will not be replacing Sean Spicer as press secretary anytime soon, a long-rumored shakeup of the White House Communications team has reportedly begun following Donald Trump’s return home. At least that’s what Axios and others are suggesting after news of Mike Dubke’s resignation as communications director was made official Tuesday morning. Dubke tendered his resignation on May 18th but offered to stay on through the president’s first foreign trip to help with the transition following his short three-month tenure.
“The reasons for my departure are personal,” he said in an email obtained by the New York Times. “But it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and his admin. It has also been my distinct pleasure to work side by side, day by day, with the staff of the communications and press depts. This White House is filled with some of the finest and hardest working men and women in the American government.”
During her appearance on Fox & Friends, former Trump campaign official turned White House counselor Kellyanne Conway confirmed the news. “He has expressed his desire to leave the White House,” she said of Dubke while downplaying reports of the coming “shakeup.” Yet as Axios notes, insiders with knowledge of the matter suggest the outgoing communications director — and outsider to “Trumpland” — “never gelled” with his administration colleagues.
Prominent GOP lobbyist and campaign advisor David Urban, however, appears to be someone who did get along with the Trump team early on. The report suggests the president may bring him into the fold — not to replace Dubke, but rather to fill in for Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, who has frequently been blamed for the White House’s many, many problems by administration officials. In addition, Trump has also apparently been meeting with David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski, two former campaign officials, in the hopes of adding them to the PR “war room” lead by Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon.
As for the oft-maligned Spicer, his press secretary gig remains in place for the time being. He’ll even appear on-camera at Tuesday’s White House Press Briefing scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, though future instances will be decreased significantly.
(Via Axios and New York Times)