Hope Hicks is resigning, but not because of Capitol riots: report

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Hope Hicks is seen as US President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Dayton International Airportin Dayton, Ohio September 21, 2020. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump’s longtime press aide and senior adviser Hope Hicks will depart the White House next week, becoming the latest in a string of loyalists to exit after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday.

Hicks told colleagues, however, that she already planned to resign next week and that her decision isn’t linked to the riot that claimed five lives, Bloomberg News reports.

The rampage, which disrupted the counting of Electoral College votes handing the White House to President-elect Joe Biden, prompted bipartisan backlash from Capitol Hill, with many Democrats and some Republicans blaming Trump for inciting it.

Earlier departures included First Lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, who previously was White House press secretary; White House spokeswoman Sarah Matthews; former acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who was Trump’s envoy to Northern Ireland; and Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also resigned.