White House staffers are incredibly anxious about the imminent departure of Hope Hicks

Hope Hicks.
(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Hope Hicks' departure is imminent, and staffers are reportedly worried about what will befall the communications team after she's gone.

Hicks, a close confidante of President Trump's, resigned as White House communications director last month. CBS News reports that she will finish out the week before leaving White House staffers in the lurch.

"She's the glue to the entire place," an anonymous White House source told CBS News. "She helps keep the White House from fracturing. I don't think people realize what's about to happen once she leaves."

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Staffers say that Hicks functioned as a liaison between the president and other staffers who didn't understand his unconventional ways. Whoever steps in to replace Hicks, sources say, will likely not be as beloved by Trump — and will surely not quell the communications department chaos in the way that Hicks did.

Top contenders to replace Hicks include Tony Sayegh, a Treasury Department spokesman; Mercedes Schlapp, director of strategic communications; and Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president. But White House staffers don't think the choice for Hicks' successor matters much, reports CBS News: "The job is already filled," a former White House official said. "It's filled by the president."

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.