Hope Hicks quits as White House communications director

Hope Hicks, one of Donald Trump’s longest-serving advisers and the fourth person to serve as communications director since he became US President, has said she is stepping down.

The announcement came a day after Hicks spent nine hours testifying before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its Russia investigation. She admitted to the committee that she had told “little white lies” on behalf of Trump, but denied having to lie about “substantive issues”.

The White House said Hicks will be leaving her post some time in the next few weeks, but said her resignation was “not connected to testimony she gave to the House Intelligence Committee”, the BBC reports.

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CNN says Hicks considered resigning “in the wake of the scandal involving former senior aide Rob Porter”, whom she was reportedly dating at the time.

Porter was forced to resign from his position as White House staff secretary in early February after being accused of physical and emotional abuse by both of his former wives.

Hicks joins a growing list of staff leaving the White House, including policy adviser Reed Cordish, press aide Josh Raffel and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell.

Their departure will “deprive Trump … of many of the aides who served as crucial buffers and sounding boards as a turbulent and politically uncertain year begins,” The New York Times says.