With the surprise resignation of White House Director of Communications Bill Shine late Friday afternoon, the Trump Administration began the search for its fifth “message maestro” in just over two years.
No sooner had former Fox News executive Shine’s announcement been made than speculation started about his successor. The name on most lips around the White House was that of Mercedes Schlapp, who has served under Shine as director of strategic communications.
A former radio and TV commentator and wife of American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp, “Mercy” Schlapp is frequently featured on White House conference calls with reporters. She most recently won high marks as the administration’s point person in responding to charges against the president by former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
“McCabe is a liar,” she told Newsmax outside the White House.
Another top prospect for the communications slot is White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, who managed Trump’s winning campaign for the presidency in 2016. Conaway, a fixture on Sunday talk shows, reportedly has Trump’s full confidence.
Whether she wants to take a “demotion” — moving from a position in which she deals with all issues to a specific assignment — is uncertain.
Others mentioned as successors to Shine include Jason Miller, a top Trump campaign operative in 2016 who declined appointment as communications director following the election; Seth Unger, deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for public affairs and a press secretary in several California GOP campaigns; and Genevieve Wood, a senior advisor at the Heritage Foundation and former deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee.
Shine, formerly a top executive with Fox News, had been director of communications since July of 2018. Previous holders of the job under Trump were Mike Dubke, Anthony Scaramucci and Hope Hicks.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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