White House communications director Bill Shine resigned Thursday to take a role as senior advisor for his re-election. Photo by Ron Sachs/Pool/UPI | License Photo

March 8 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's fifth White House communications director has resigned to become a senior adviser for the president's 2020 re-election bid.

Bill Shine submitted his resignation late Thursday, the White House said. He took over the post last July from Hope Hicks, who'd served for about seven months. She succeeded Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted for 10 days in the job.


Before joining the White House team, Shine was co-president of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. He left the network in 2017 following accusations of sexual harassment against former chairman Roger Ailes and talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

"Serving President Trump and this country has been the most rewarding experience of my entire life," Shine said in a statement received by UPI Friday. "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."

"Bill Shine has done an outstanding job working for me and the administration," Trump said in the emailed statement. "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."

Shine's departure follows a New Yorker article this week that said Trump's day-to-day decision making is heavily influenced by the Fox News Channel.

"What you've got is a dysfunctional White House ... with no normal decision-making process where a lot of the policy-making is the president picking up what's on Fox," the report stated, citing insiders at the White House.

Shine was formerly a producer for Sean Hannity at Fox News, one of Trump's most vocal television supporters. He rose through the ranks at Fox until the harassment charges surfaced and Shine was called an "enabler" in some lawsuits filed by the network.

There was no immediate mention by the administration who might step into the role. Sean Spicer and Mike Dubke have also been Trump's communications chief.