President Donald Trump has accepted the resignation of Bill Shine, a former Fox News executive who became White House communications director in July 2018.
Shine will become a senior adviser to Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday.
“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,” Trump said in a statement after accepting Shine's resignation Thursday..
Citing an unidentified source, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Trump grew frustrated with Shine's inability to "turn around negative news coverage cycles quickly enough to focus on more favorable stories." An unidentified Republican told Politico that Shine's impact on the communications office "has barely been noticeable."
Still, in a statement obtained by Axios, Shine said his time as White House communications director was "the most rewarding experience of my entire life."
“To be a small part of all this President has done of the American people has truly been an honor,” Shine said. “I’m looking forward to working on President Trump’s reelection campaign and spending more time with my family.”
Shine was the fifth person to serve as White House communications director since Trump's inauguration in January. He took on the role after Hope Hicks resigned from the post. Others to hold the position include Anthony Scaramucci -- who infamously lasted less than two weeks in the position -- former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and Mike Dubke.
Shine was Sean Hannity's top producer for several years at Fox News Channel, rising to network leadership when founding chief executive Roger Ailes was forced out following sexual misconduct allegations. Shine wasn't accused of such misdeeds, but he was named in lawsuits as someone who tried to keep a lid on allegations of bad workplace behavior instead of trying to root it out.
He was nine months into his time as co-president of the network in May 2017 when he resigned amid criticism of how he handled sexual abuse allegations leveled against Ailes, according to The Hill.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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