White House Communications Director Hope Hicks spent nine hours behind closed doors testifying to the House Intelligence Committee.
She was questioned about what she knew about Russian collusion.
When Hicks was finished, the unthinkable happened.
The 29-year-old Hicks – who took over the job of Communications Director after Sean Spicer resigned last summer – announced she was leaving the White House.
The Hill reports:
“Hope Hicks on Wednesday resigned from her post as White House communications director.
“There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump,” she said in a statement. “I wish the president and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country.”
The New York Times first reported that Hicks told colleagues she had been considering resigning for months, and made her announcement internally on Wednesday.
President Trump said that Hicks is “a truly great person.”
“Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years,” the president said. “She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person. I will miss having her by my side but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I totally understood. I am sure we will work together again in the future.”
Many in the press speculated if she had to leave because she had admitted that her job required her to tell “white lies” for Trump.
She forcefully denied lying about anything related to Russia, but that didn’t stop the speculation.
As usual, it was fake news.
Hicks had been planning to leave the White House for a while because she hates the Washington swamp.
Hope Hicks departure is NOT about yesterday's hearing, per multiple sources. She had planned it before, had been thinking about it for months. She had informed a very small number of people prior to Hill hearing that she planned to leave.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 28, 2018
She told colleagues she felt like she had done all she could do in the job. She had never liked Washington and never become part of its ecosystem.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 28, 2018
Hicks was a “Trump original.”
In fact, she was the first hire on his Presidential campaign back in 2015.
She is one of Trump’s most trusted aides, and pundits are wondering how the White House will function without Hicks – whom Trump treats like a daughter.
