NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's top communications official will be leaving his post at the end of the year.

According to The Tennessean, Lee communications director Chris Walker will step down Dec. 31 to return to the private sector.

Walker joined the administration after working on Lee's 2018 Republican campaign that landed him in the governor's mansion.

Walker says he plans to take on projects he put on hold, such as think tank work and political work.

Earlier this year, Lee's special assistant, Chris Devaney, resigned to help run Manny Sethi's Republican campaign for an open U.S. Senate seat in Tennessee. Devaney also came from Lee's campaign team.