President Donald Trump has yet to reveal who will replace Hope Hicks as his White House Communications Director, but all signs seem to indicate that Kellyanne Conway is moving toward taking over the role.
Kellyanne Conway is edging toward accepting the job of White House Communications Director. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for her to say no,” one official tells @elainaplott: https://t.co/6TVb8vzIUC pic.twitter.com/jKrRnHoRz8
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) March 22, 2018
Conway has said that she’s not interested in the job. But according to one senior White House official, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff have both encouraged her to take it. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for her to say no,” the official said.
Another senior White House official said of Trump, “He’s basically told her she’s no longer allowed to say no.”
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Trump and Conway have discussed a potential compromise: Conway would take over the post on an interim basis only, until a permanent replacement is found. After that, Conway would create her own role within the White House communications department.
However, part of the reported reason Trump is so insistent that Conway take the role is to block out Mercedes Schlapp. After Hicks announced her resignation, Chief of Staff John Kelly floated that Schlapp, who’s currently the strategic communications director, take over. But Hicks, who’s long had Trump’s ear, prefers Conway:
“Once Hope said she was leaving, Mercy smelled blood, and she started biting,” one White House official told me, referring to Schlapp’s “transparent campaign” for the post. “She picked a fight with the wrong person. Obviously, Hope is everyone’s favorite, and people here are willing to ice out anyone who messes with her.” (A source close to Schlapp countered, however, that she has “no issues with anyone at the top.” “She’s worked closely with everyone and is focused on bringing the team together,” added a White House official close to her.)
Furthermore, it seems like what Trump wants, Trump gets. According to one Trump campaign official, the president “very much believes that he can fill the job with anyone he wants.”
Source: The Atlantic
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