Two days after Trump returned from his first international trip, and confirming media reports of an imminent shale up within the White House communication team (and away from it) moments ago NBC and ABC reported that Trump’s communications director, Mike Dubke has resigned and is leaving the White House.
JUST IN: @NBCNews confirms Mike Dubke, President Trump’s communications director, is leaving the White House
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 30, 2017
Dubke, 47, had been tasked with helping to shape the president’s message, a process that Trump became increasingly frustrated with in recent weeks. According to Axios which first reported Dubke’s departure, the veteran Republican served for just three months before tendering his resignation May 18. He offered to stay through the overseas trip, and Trump accepted. He has been trying to help restructure the press and communications operation, and is parting on good terms, a senior administration official said, which probably suggests he is not suspected of leaking Trump confidential information.
Dubke is still coming into work, and his last day has not yet been set. Previously, he had helped found Crossroads Media, a Republican media services firm.
Dubke’s resignation may serve as an opportunity to revamp Trump’s communications team, which has frequently come under criticism during the early months of the president’s term.
The high profile departure is the start of a wave of changes as the West Wing struggles to cope with burgeoning scandals and a stalled agenda, according to Axios which also adds that Trump is considering much broader changes, including the possibility of bringing in David Urban, a prominent GOP lobbyist who was a senior adviser on the campaign, as chief of staff.
Friends say Urban, 53, who’s credited with helping Trump win his crucial upset in Pennsylvania, brings seasoned political judgment and no personal agenda. He’s a West Point graduate, has a master’s in government administration from Penn, and a law degree from Temple. Urban was on Trump’s plane and in his green rooms during frequent campaign stops in the Keystone State, and the two became cellphone buddies.
Trump met yesterday with two top officials from his campaign, Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, about joining the crisis-communications war room he’s setting up, perhaps as part of an outside-inside duet.
And a list of the likely changes to take place at the White House over the coming days:
- Sean Spicer will stay as press secretary, but will do fewer on-camera briefings (although he’s on-camera today at 2 p.m.)
- More briefings will be on-record but off-camera.
- Trump is likely to travel more — at least once a week, some top officials hope.
- Trump may take a few questions from the press when he’s on the road, and will take more questions when he’s appearing at photo ops with foreign leaders.
- An official explained why Trump will do more of the talking for the White House: “He says things exactly the way he wants them to be said.”
- Translation: When he says it, he can’t second-guess his staff.
via http://ift.tt/2qvBI79 Tyler Durden