Hope Hicks, the president’s top former aide and White House communications director, is returning to the White House as a counselor to the president, The New York Times reported Thursday. Hicks, 31, will report to the president’s son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, and will work with White House political director, Brian Jack. Hicks was one of the president’s longest-serving aides and closest confidantes.She began working for the Trump Organization in 2014, served as press secretary for the Trump campaign, and ultimately became the communications chief at the White House. She left the White House in March 2018 and began a job at Fox as the head of communications in early 2019. Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.Hope Hicks, the president’s top former aide and White House communications director, is returning to the White House as a counselor to the president after a stint at Fox, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Hicks, 31, will report to the president’s son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, and will work with White House political director, Brian Jack, The Times reported. “There is no one more devoted to implementing President Trump’s agenda than Hope Hicks,” Kushner said in a statement. “We are excited to have her back on the team.”Hicks was one of the president’s longest-serving aides and closest confidantes. She began working for the Trump Organization in 2014, served as press secretary for the Trump campaign, and ultimately became the communications chief at the White House. Hicks left the White House in March 2018 amid increasing scrutiny of the president’s handling of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia. She also faced media scrutiny over her romantic relationship with former White House aide Rob Porter, who was accused by both of his ex-wives of verbal and physical abuse in early 2018.
She announced her resignation a day after she testified behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee last June as part of its investigation into whether the president obstructed justice. She refused to answer the committee’s questions or provide any documents pertaining to her time in the White House.Following her White House departure, Hicks spent several months living in New York City, where she kept a low profile. Fox Corp. brought Hicks on as its top communications officer in early 2019 — a job that took her to Los Angeles.Hicks considered rejoining the administration last summer and asked friends which positions they thought might be available to her, CNN reported. She has remained close with former White House colleagues and campaign staffers, CNN said.White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to the committee that Hicks is “absolutely immune” from revealing information about her work in the White House, including minor details like where her office was. Democrats called the immunity assertion “bogus,” and Justice Department veterans and ethics lawyers also said Cipollone’s assessment has no legal merit.
