White House Communications Director Resigns in Midst of Investigations

The White House communications director, Michael Dubke, announced his resignation from the Trump administration after serving for three months. He offered his resignation on May 18 but Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, asked Dubke to remain on the Trump administration until Mr. Trump completed his first overseas trip to Europe.

Mr. Dubke issued a statement saying “the reasons for my departure are personal, but it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration.” Mr. Dubke declined to elaborate on the reasons for his resignation, but asserted that “this is as friendly a departure as one could have.”

Mr. Priebus also issued a statement thanking Mr. Dubke for his service and stating that the former communications director would oversee the positions transition and would continue to be a strong advocate for Mr. Trump and his policies.

Some have speculated on the reasons for Mr. Dubke’s resignation including the clear challenges that the job of communications director would have while working with President Trump who has taken to twitter to release political statements time and time again after being advised by his team not to.

Recently Trump took to Twitter to express his political views by suggesting the Senate get rid of its filibuster rule that requires 60 votes to pass a bill. He wrote “The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy.”

The problem with such a statement was that it revealed that Trump was unaware of what was happening in Congress. His healthcare bill is already being considered and would need 51 votes to pass. It is not being pushed forward because despite Republicans controlling 52 seats in the Senate, they do not believe the bill would pass with 51 votes. As to the tax cuts mentioned in President Trump’s tweets, the administration has yet to give a detailed tax plan so there is nothing for the Senate to vote on yet.

Trump continued to post political commentary to twitter after his back to back meetings in Europe with the NATO alliance and the Group of 7 major powers. “We have a massive trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for the U.S. This will change,” Mr. Trump wrote. He then claimed that the Russian investigation was a political distraction by Democrats to discredit his presidential victory. Lawyers and advisers warn Trump that his tweets can be considered evidence in cases against him and that is posts may severe relations with allies.

Similar speculations for Mr. Dubke’s departure include the multiple investigations into the Trump administration which might motivate Dubke to step down sooner rather than later so that he wouldn’t surround himself with bad press and could more easily pursue something else.

As Dubke gave his resignation, Trump and his administration fought against reports that Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, explored the possibility of setting up secret communication between the Russian government and Trump during his transition to presidency. Trump took to twitter to defend Kushner by saying that the Russians suggested the secret channel of communication to discuss the war in Syria. Trump’s counselor, Kellyanne Conway, also came to Kushner’s defense to say that accusations against Kushner were a “rush to judgement” and that Kushner has made “considerable progress” and the “very large important portfolio that Jared oversees.”

Mr. Dubke was a veteran Republican strategist who had worked on President George Bush’s re-election campaign in 1992, was the advisor to Rick Perry when he governed Texas, worked on Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign in 2008, and was a consultant for Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska. He also founded Crossroads Media, a Republican media services firm, and helped found the Black Rock Group, a global investment management corporation. Although not confirmed, some believe he may go back to one of these firms following his resignation.

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