Hope Hicks’s first association with the Trump family was working with President Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, on her personal apparel and licensing brand about six years ago.

 Hicks had no political experience when she joined Trump’s tumultuous campaign for the White House. She initially served as a press secretary within the White House, before taking on the role of communications director

Hicks led strategic messaging for administration priorities such as the historic passage of tax reform and worked with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders to stabilize the press and communications teams after initial phases of transition

WASHINGTON (TIP): Hope Hicks, one of Donald Trump’s longest-serving and trusted aides, on March 1, announced her resignation as the powerful communications director, in a major blow to the US President and the embattled White House amidst the intensifying inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The 29-year-old former model, though considered a political novice, was known as one of the few aides of Trump who understood his style and could influence his views. Her surprise resignation came a day after she testified before the House Intelligence Committee she testified for eight hours on allegations related to the Russian interference during the presidential campaign.

During her testimony, Hicks told the panel that in her job, she had occasionally been required to tell white lies but had never lied about anything connected to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the election, US media reported.

Although Hicks maintained an unusually low profile over the past three years, she recently attracted scrutiny after Special Counsel Robert Mueller escalated his probe into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

She is leaving the White House after serving Trump for three years in various capacities. This included being his campaign spokesperson and Director of Strategic Communication when Trump was sworn in as the President.

“There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump,” Hicks said in a statement. President Trump praised Hicks for her outstanding work. The White House did not announce the exact day of her departure but said it could be sometime in the next few weeks.

In a little over 13 months of the Trump administration, Hicks is the fourth individual to resign as the White House Director of Communications. The other three being Sean Spicer, Mike Dubke and Anthony Scaramucci.

(With inputs from PTI)