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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
-
Homo Floresiensis: Earth’s real life ‘hobbits’Under the Radar New research suggests that ‘early human pioneers’ in Australia interbred with archaic species of hobbits at least 60,000 years ago
-
Homes by renowned architectsFeature Featuring a Leonard Willeke Tudor Revival in Detroit and modern John Storyk design in Woodstock
-
Looming drone ban has farmers and farm-state Republicans anxiousIN THE SPOTLIGHT As congressional China-hawks work to limit commercial drone sales from Beijing, a growing number of conservative lawmakers are sounding an agricultural alarm
-
‘It’s critical that Congress get involved’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
-
The military: When is an order illegal?Feature Trump is making the military’s ‘most senior leaders complicit in his unlawful acts’
-
Ukraine and Rubio rewrite Russia’s peace planFeature The only explanation for this confusing series of events is that ‘rival factions’ within the White House fought over the peace plan ‘and made a mess of it’
-
The powerful names in the Epstein emailsIn Depth People from a former Harvard president to a noted linguist were mentioned
-
Honduras votes amid Trump push, pardon vowspeed read President Trump said he will pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years for drug trafficking
-
Congress seeks answers in ‘kill everybody’ strike reportSpeed Read Lawmakers suggest the Trump administration’s follow-up boat strike may be a war crime
-
Andriy Yermak: how weak is Zelenskyy without his right-hand man?Today's Big Question Resignation of Ukrainian president’s closest ally marks his ‘most politically perilous moment yet’
