Lucas Jackson/Reuters
- Bill Shine has resigned as White House deputy chief of staff for communications, the administration announced Friday.
- Shine joined the White House in July 2018.
- Prior to joining the Trump administration, Shine was a senior executive at Fox News.
- Shine was forced out at Fox over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations made by female employees.
Bill Shine, the former Fox News executive who joined the Trump administration in July, has resigned as White House deputy chief of staff for communications.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Friday that Shine will continue to work with President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.
"Assistant to the President and Communications Director, Bill Shine offered his resignation to the President yesterday evening, and the President accepted," Sanders said. "Bill continues to support President Trump and his agenda and will serve as Senior Advisor to the 2020 re-election campaign."
While at Fox News, Shine was close to disgraced former network chief Roger Ailes. The sexual harassment scandal that forced Ailes to step away from the network also led to Shine’s ouster.
In a statement, Shine did not give a reason for the departure but called the White House job 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. I’m looking forward to working on President Trump’s reelection campaign and spending more time with my family," he said.
The New York Times reported in January that Trump had become disgruntled with Shine’s performance and was asking people whether the communications director was "good" for his presidency.
An extensive New Yorker report, published Monday, that detailed the close connections between Fox News and the Trump administration also dived into Trump’s dissatisfaction with Shine’s performance. According to the report, Trump thought that Shine was not aggressive enough and was not getting the administration enough positive coverage.
But Trump praised Shine in a statement, saying the communications director "has done 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.
Shine was one of a handful of former Fox News employees that have joined the Trump administration, including State Department spokesperson and former United Nation Ambassador nominee Heather Nauert.
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Source: Business Insider – bbryan@businessinsider.com (Bob Bryan)