Press Secretary May Leave White House at End of Year

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is planning to leave the White House at the end of the year, according to a report.

News ID: 70738

Date: 14 June 2018 - 15:19

TEHRAN (Defapress)- Two of the most visible members of the Trump administration are planning their departures, the latest sign of upheaval in a White House marked by turmoil, CBS News reported Wednesday, citing sources in the administration.

Sanders has reportedly told friends about her plans to depart the President Donald Trump administration. Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah is also reportedly eyeing a White House exit, but has not yet decided on a departure date.

Sanders did not deny the report in a tweet sent roughly an hour after the report was published.

"Does @CBSNews know something I don’t about my plans and my future? I was at my daughter’s year-end Kindergarten event and they ran a story about my 'plans to leave the WH' without even talking to me. I love my job and am honored to work for @POTUS," Sanders tweeted.

Both officials are among the most visible members of the Trump administration.

Sanders worked on the Trump campaign, and initially worked in the White House as Deputy Press Secretary under then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer. She took over as Press Secretary when Spicer resigned last July.

Shah worked for the Republican National Committee (RNC) during the 2016 campaign season, and later joined the Trump administration.

Sanders and Shah would be the latest communications staffers to depart the White House.

Communications director Anthony Scaramucci was fired after a brief stint in the administration last summer. His successor, Hope Hicks, resigned earlier this year. Other communications aides have left the administration in recent weeks amid an effort to crackdown on leaks.

The White House has had a combative relationship with the media, with the President frequently labeling certain outlets "fake news". Sanders has vowed that the administration is "committed to a free press".

Reporters have grilled Sanders on multiple instances where she made statements from the White House podium that were later proven to be false. She has attributed the mistakes to lacking the correct information at the time, though she recently declined to address such questions entirely.

She has also been forced to defend her credibility in recent weeks, claiming it's "probably higher than the media's".

In an interview with CNN in early June, Sanders was asked whether she's enjoying her job.

"I am. And even in moments when I come on CNN, because I love our country," she told Chris Cuomo.

"And you're OK with how you're doing it?" Cuomo asked.

"I mean, I think things are going pretty well. Again, I think that the country is moving in the right direction and it's doing that under the President's leadership," she responded, stating that "and I'm proud to be a part of that," she continued. "And I think some really great things have happened over these first 500 days. And I think a lot of great things are going to take place over the next 6 and a half years".

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