President Donald Trump’s longtime communications director Hope Hicks is reportedly planning to resign, the New York Times reported on Wednesday afternoon, one day after Hicks testified for eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee in a closed door meeting.
Hicks’ decision to leave her powerful White House post was reportedly months in the making. White House aides told the Times that Hicks had said that she believed she’d done all she could in her current role and that it was the right time to leave.
BREAKING: AP Source: White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, one of Trump’s most loyal aides, resigning.
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 28, 2018
Hicks, 29, has been a much-discussed member of Trump’s team since his 2016 campaign — she’s been cited as a “Trump whisperer” who was uniquely able to understand and navigate the president’s moods, she’s been meme’d for being comically silent and elusive and was romantically connected to White House Aide Rob Porter who resigned earlier this month after allegations that he abused his ex-wives.
Most recently, however, Hicks made headlines for comments made during her eight hour testimony, as the Times notes, for only answering questions about her time campaigning with Trump and confirming that she did tell what she called “white lies” for the President who has a long and complicated history with the truth.)
What if one of Hope Hicks’ little white lies is that she only tells little white lies? #inceptionbutton pic.twitter.com/WSJPrx15QC
— Sam Stein (@samstein) February 28, 2018
Not surprisingly, Hicks (who has never been a big talker herself) said that she had “no words” to express her gratitude to the president and instead let Trump serve up a statement of his own on her behalf:
“Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years. 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.”