Trump's communications director is out as larger shakeup looms Mike Dubke, who was on the job a little over three months, resigned May 18.

Mike Dubke, President Donald Trump’s communications director, has resigned as Trump considers a larger personnel shakeup to confront the growing scandals weighing down his administration.

The veteran GOP strategist privately announced his resignation in a meeting with the president on May 18, and Trump accepted immediately, Dubke said in an interview. He added that he offered to stay through Trump’s first foreign trip to ensure there was a smooth transition as he exited.


Dubke, who spoke with POLITICO as he drove into the White House early Tuesday morning, said he expects to go back to Black Rock Group, his communications and public affairs firm. A White House official said press secretary Sean Spicer will return to his dual role as communications director until everything is sorted out. Axios first reported that Dubke was leaving.

“The reasons for my departure are personal, but it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration,” Dubke emailed friends Tuesday morning. “It has also been my distinct pleasure to work side-by-side, day-by-day with the staff of the communications and press departments. This White House is filled with some of the finest and hardest working men and women in the American Government.”

Playbook PM Sign up for our must-read newsletter on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Chief of staff Reince Priebus thanked Dubke for his service in a statement Tuesday. “Mike will assist with the transition and be a strong advocate for the President and the President's policies moving forward,” Priebus said.

Dubke’s exit comes as Trump considers larger staff changes as he tries to contain the deepening scandals related to ties between Russia and his campaign.

Trump returned to Washington this weekend facing not only congressional probes but the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Trump’s associates and Russia as the Kremlin allegedly tried to tip the election Trump’s way. Trump, whose tweets were largely restrained while he was abroad, returned to form Tuesday morning, writing that Germany has a “MASSIVE trade deficit” with the U.S. and pays “FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military.”

“Very bad for U.S.,” he said. “This will change.”

In subsequent tweets, Trump claimed Russian officials are laughing at America and “how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News.” He also recommended that the Senate do away with the legislative filibuster to advance health care legislation and approve tax cuts. Republicans, however, are already pursuing both issues with a budget procedure known as reconciliation that allows them to advance the measures with a simple majority.

The president rounded out his spree with retweets of his Memorial Day crowd size and an anonymously sourced Fox News report that says his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, didn’t suggest a Russian communications channel when he met with the Russian ambassador in December.

Beyond Dubke, Spicer, the press secretary, is expected to take on a reduced public role, though he is conducting the briefing later on Tuesday. Dubke, who was only on the job for a little over three months, had generally been seen as a Spicer ally in the White House.

Trump has also been in talks with former campaign aides Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie about taking on more formal roles, possibly in a crisis management function. Trump met with Lewandowski and Bossie in the White House on Monday, and the discussion centered on what role they could play, said one person briefed on the matter.

Trump is also said to have become more frustrated with Kushner, a top adviser who has become the subject of damaging reports alleging that he tried to set up secret communications with the Russians during the transition and failed to disclose multiple meetings with Russian officials.

However, it’s not clear that Trump would remove a family member, and Kushner’s lawyer said he is willing to cooperate with the various investigations into the matter.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday tried to downplay the idea of a staff shake-up and said Dubke has been professional about his departure.

“He has expressed his desire to leave the White House and made very clear that he would see through the president’s international trip and come to work every day and work hard even through that trip,” Conway told "Fox & Friends."

In a notoriously leak-prone White House, Dubke told POLITICO he was surprised that the news of his planned departure took 12 days to leak out.

A longtime Republican operative and establishment stalwart, Dubke never fit into a White House consumed by chaos. Some questioned why he and not a Trump loyalist was tapped for the communications director job. After being selected for the post, he began telling people in the administration that he never produced TV ads targeting Trump during the 2016 campaign — a move that was designed to reassure loyalists in the White House, but one that left some rankled.

There was also some awkwardness to Dubke’s role: internally, it was made clear he was subordinate to the press secretary, Spicer — an unusual set-up. Dubke also came under fire after POLITICO reported last month that the president didn’t have a foreign policy doctrine.

Trump told friends in recent weeks that he was unhappy with Dubke — and that he wondered why he never seemed to get positive press anymore.

As the president dwells on the scandals, the embattled communications wing has emerged as the center of possible change in the White House. It is seen as increasingly likely that Lewandowski and Bossie will take on some functions, though it remains unclear whether they will join the White House or work for Trump as outside advocates. Both have complex business dealings that would need to be untangled should they enter the administration in an official capacity.

The two fit the mold of what Trump is looking for. Both have reputations as cutthroat, hard-charging operatives, and both worked on Trump’s presidential campaign in senior roles. Lewandowski, however, was pushed out as campaign manager after a power struggle with campaign chairman Paul Manafort. And there are questions about how effective Lewandowski would be in a crisis management role, given how he has clashed with top Trump aides including Priebus and Kushner.

In recent days, the president has told aides he misses being around some of those who worked for him during the campaign and has talked about bringing the crew back together.

Other changes could also be in the works: While Spicer is likely to remain in the White House, Conway, a frequent Trump on-air surrogate, could take on a broader role.

Nolan D. McCaskill contributed to this report.