Trump’s Top Communications Aide Hope Hicks Resigns

Hope Hicks was one of the first people hired by US President Donald Trump when he began his campaign.

Twenty-nine-year-old Donald Trump aide Hope Hicks, former White House communications director.

(Photo: AP)

Hope Hicks, one of US President Donald Trump's longest-serving, most trusted aides, is resigning from her job as White House communications director.

The White House announced she was leaving a day after Hicks, 29, spent nine hours in a closed hearing of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Hicks' decision to leave was not related to her appearance before the panel. Lawmakers said Hicks, Trump's spokeswoman during the election campaign, declined to answer questions about the administration but she did answer every question asked about her time with the campaign, and the transition months between the November election and the January 2017 inauguration.

Hicks' exact departure was unclear but is expected to be sometime over the next few weeks.

Hicks was caught up in a controversy surrounding former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, whom she had been dating. She worked to defend him when charges of domestic abuse against his two former wives emerged. Porter was ultimately forced to resign.

A one-time aide to Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, and with no previous experience in politics,Hicks was one of the first people hired by the then-New York businessman when he began his campaign for the presidency.

(This is a developing story and will be updated.)