Bill Shine, White House deputy chief of staff for communications, has resigned after only eight months on the job and will work on the president’s re-election campaign, the White House said Friday.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr. Shine offered his resignation to President Trump Thursday night, and the president accepted.
“Bill continues to support President Trump and his agenda and will serve as senior adviser to the 2020 re-election campaign,” she said.
There have been reports in recent months that Mr. Trump was unhappy at times with the former Fox News executive. In a statement, Mr. Trump commended Mr. Shine for “an outstanding job working for me and the administration.”
“We will miss him in the White House, but look forward to working together on the 2020 presidential campaign, where he will be totally involved,” the president said.
Mr. Shine said his White House service “has been the most rewarding experience of my entire life.”
“To be a small part of all this president has done for the American people has truly been an honor,” he said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working on President Trump’s re-election campaign and spending more time with my family.”
Mr. Shine was Mr. Trump’s sixth communications director in a little more than two years, a demanding post under a television-savvy president who takes a dominant role in his own communications operation.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney called Mr. Shine “an asset of invaluable importance to this West Wing.”
“I have enjoyed working with him and witnessing firsthand his unmatched talent, expertise and skills,” Mr. Mulvaney said. “I am grateful that he will continue to be an important member of team Trump.”
Mrs. Sanders said Mr. Shine “has been a great leader on our team and someone we have all loved working with every day.”
“Bill has become a real friend and his generosity and his passion for our country will be sorely missed,” she said. “It is a big loss for the White House, but a huge gain for the president’s reelection campaign.”
Mr. Shine had a series of high-level jobs at Fox, working alongside chairman and chief executive officer Roger Ailes for two decades. He left Fox after he was named in several lawsuits against Fox alleging sexual harassment by the late Mr. Ailes, but denied wrongdoing.
Mr. Shine’s resignation comes a few days after a New Yorker article suggested Fox News has become too pro-Trump. But the network has given Mr. Trump favorable coverage from the start of his presidency.
The president also is said to believe that his overall press coverage hasn’t improved since Mr. Shine came on board last July.
Mr. Shine’s wife, Darla, has remained living in New York since he came to the White House.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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