In August, longtime Donald Trump staffer Hope Hicks became the fourth person to occupy the White House communications director role — albeit on an interim basis. With the friendly or forced resignations of Jason Miller, Mike Dubke and Anthony Scaramucci before her, perhaps the former Trump campaign spokesperson just didn’t want to become another number. Whatever the case, the White House’s initial explanation — that Hicks and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders would “search for a replacement for Scaramucci” — no longer applies. For it seems Hicks herself is the replacement.
According to Bloomberg, Hicks “will now lead the communications team on a permanent basis” per two White House sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Apparently the new team, now lead by Chief of Staff John Kelly, considers the 28-year-old administration official a “strong leader.” After all, Hicks is “one of the president’s most trusted aides and therefore secure in her standing” — unlike previous campaign add-ons like Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer, who left their respective posts at the Republican National Committee to join Team Trump.
Just how long Hicks will last in her new position with the Trump administration remains to be seen. After all, the current White House has maintained one of the highest rates of staff turnover in recent memory. And to make matters worse, she and five other current and former officials were recently named as persons of interest by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s probe into possible Russian collusion. Hicks has retained personal counsel to handle the investigation’s inquiries.
(Via Bloomberg)