In the American mind, California has been a place of fresh starts and re-invention. So it makes sense that Hope Hicks is heading west to serve as chief communications officer for “New Fox,” the parent company of Fox News, based in Los Angeles. Hicks, a 29-year-old former P.R. flack, had experienced a difficult time in New York after exiting Donald Trump’s White House at the end of March. She was hounded by paparazzi, who photographed her jogging in Central Park with Rob Porter, her West Wing office romance, who left the White House after allegations of spousal abuse surfaced (Porter denied it). And she’s also had to spend time and six figures on legal fees, (apparently funded by the Republican National Committee), dealing with Robert Mueller’s investigation. The opportunity to work for the Murdochs on another coast would be a chance for a reset.

Until Trump’s presidency, working in the White House was a guaranteed ticket to plum jobs in the private sector. West Wing officials, gilded résumés in hand, transitioned easily to investment banks, media companies, and universities. Like a lot of Trump alumni, Hicks had a more challenging time. “It’s the Trump taint,” one former West Wing official told me. She took a lot of meetings, but the big offers didn’t roll in. “She said she was looking for a big job in media and investment banks,” one executive who met with her recalled. At one point it appeared like she might even go back to the White House and replace the embattled chief of staff, John Kelly. (Hicks declined to comment.)

But the Trump-Kushner nexus finally came through. In August, Page Six reported that Hicks had lunch at Avra on the Upper East Side with media banker Aryeh Bourkoff, the C.E.O. of LionTree and a close friend of Jared Kushner’s (during the 2016 presidential campaign, Kushner reportedly had conversations with Bourkoff about launching Trump TV). Around this time, Hicks began talks with Lachlan Murdoch, who is becoming chairman and C.E.O. of New Fox, the slimmed-down media company comprised of assets the Murdochs did not sell to Disney. Sources said Trump and Kushner put in calls to Rupert Murdoch to recommend Hicks.

Two weeks ago, Hicks had offers from both Bourkoff and Fox, sources said. In the end, working for Fox across the country was the more attractive opportunity. It’s unclear what this means for her relationship with Porter, who’s so far been unable to find a job, a former West Wing colleague told me. “It’s a big job. Plus she gets to move to L.A.,” a friend said. Although, of course, since she’s working for Fox, which often works for Trump, it’s in another sense not a fresh start at all.