Hope Hicks

Hope Charlotte Hicks (born October 21, 1988) is an American public relations consultant who in February 2020 was named counselor to President Donald Trump.[1] Hicks previously served as White House communications director from August 2017 until March 29, 2018.[2][3] From January to September 2017, she was White House director of strategic communications.

Hope Hicks
Counselor to the President
Assumed office
March 31, 2020
Serving with Kellyanne Conway
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJohnny DeStefano
White House Director of Communications
In office
September 12, 2017 – March 29, 2018
Acting: August 16, 2017 – September 12, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byAnthony Scaramucci
Succeeded byBill Shine
1st White House Director of Strategic Communications
In office
January 20, 2017 – September 12, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byMercedes Schlapp
Personal details
Born
Hope Charlotte Hicks

(1988-10-21) October 21, 1988
Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationSouthern Methodist University (BA)
*Pending Oath of Affirmation

A former model, Hicks was an employee of the Trump Organization before becoming press secretary and early communications director for the Trump 2016 presidential campaign, as well as the national press secretary for the presidential transition team.[4][5] She was Trump's longest-serving political aide at the time of her resignation.[6][7]

In 2019, Hicks began working for Fox Corporation as its chief communications officer and executive vice president.[8][9]

Early life

Hicks is the daughter of Caye Ann (Cavender) Hicks and Paul Burton Hicks III.[10] She grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut.[11][12] Her father was Regional CEO, Americas[13] of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, and executive vice president of communications for the National Football League from 2010 to 2015, before becoming managing director of the Glover Park Group.[4][11][14][15][16] Her family had a history in government administration: her mother was an administrative aide to Ed Jones, a Democratic congressman from Tennessee; her maternal grandfather, G. W. F. "Dutch" Cavender, worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an administrator during two different administrations; and her maternal grandmother, Marilee Cavender, worked at the U.S. Department of Transportation.[17]

Hicks was a teenage model, appearing in Greenwich magazine in 2002.[6] She then posed for a Ralph Lauren campaign with her older sister Mary Grace, and was the face of the Hourglass Adventures novels about a time-traveling 10-year-old.[6] She was the cover model for The It Girl (2005), the first novel in the series by Cecily von Ziegesar.[18]

Hicks attended Greenwich High School, where she was co-captain of the lacrosse team, and graduated in 2006.[12][19][20] She then attended Southern Methodist University, where she majored in English and played on a club lacrosse program she helped start. She graduated in 2010.[6][12][21]

Career

Hicks started in public relations with the New York City firm Zeno Group.[16] She began working for public relations firm Hiltzik Strategies in 2012, after meeting the firm's founder at a Super Bowl event, and worked there for Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, on her fashion line, and then on other Trump ventures.[12][22]

In August 2014, Hicks joined the Trump Organization full-time.[14] She worked for Ivanka Trump inside Trump Tower, helping expand her fashion label (the Ivanka Trump Collection) and modeling for her online store.[23] In October 2014, she began working directly for Donald Trump.[24]

In January 2015, Donald Trump chose Hicks, who was 26 years old at the time, for the role of press secretary for his potential presidential campaign.[25][26] Trump summoned her to his office and, as she tells it, "Mr. Trump looked at me and said, 'I'm thinking about running for president, and you're going to be my press secretary.'"[23] Until that time, she had never worked in politics or volunteered on a campaign.[27] After Trump's first primary victories, Hicks was asked to choose between staying with the Trump Organization or working on the campaign full-time. She initially decided to leave the campaign, but Trump convinced her to remain and she stayed on as press secretary.[12]

During the campaign, she played the role of gatekeeper to press members who wanted to speak with Trump, handling over 250 requests a day, and deciding which reporters would be allowed to speak with him.[11][27] Hicks also took dictation from Trump for his tweets, and then sent the text to another person in the Trump organization who sent the tweets from Trump's official account.[23][28] When in New York City, she would spend most of her day in Trump's office, handling inquiries from the press and taking dictation from him to tweet.[25]

On December 22, 2016, it was announced that Hicks would become part of the Trump Administration, in the newly created position of the White House director of strategic communications. In January 2017, Hicks was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, having "served as a one-woman press team for Trump's historic presidential campaign".[29]

On August 16, 2017, she was appointed as the interim White House communications director (the last director having been Anthony Scaramucci). Politico labelled her the "Untouchable Hope Hicks", as she was considered one of the few White House officials whose job was safe, and one of only two White House communications officials Scaramucci had announced were definitely staying when he was first hired.[30] She was appointed permanent White House communications director on September 12, 2017.[31]

On February 27, 2018, Hicks gave nine hours of closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. She acknowledged that she sometimes had to tell "white lies" in her work as communications director, but refused to answer any questions about her tenure in the White House.[32] The next day the White House confirmed to The New York Times that Hicks planned to resign.[33] According to "multiple sources", she had been planning to resign for months, and her announcement was unrelated to the events of the preceding 24 hours.[34] She officially resigned on March 29, 2018.[35]

On March 4, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Hicks requesting information regarding alleged obstruction of justice by the current administration.[36] (She was mentioned over 180 times in Robert Mueller's report on Russian election interference and possible obstruction of justice; the report was released on April 18, 2019.[37]) The Committee subpoenaed documents and her testimony on May 21, 2019.[38] On June 4, 2019, the Trump White House invoked executive privilege, directing Hicks to not provide any documents related to her employment in the Trump administration.[39] She agreed to testify in a closed-door session on June 19, 2019,[40] during which lawyers for the Trump administration forbade Hicks from answering questions 155 times, claiming that due to "absolute immunity", Hicks "may not speak about anything that occurred during the time of her employment in the White House as a close adviser to the President".[41][42] Hicks testified on the scheduled date, and also complied with the White House request to not answer questions.[43][44][45][46] On July 18, 2019, un-redacted search warrant documents from the Michael Cohen criminal case were released and it appeared a strong possibility that Hicks had known about hush payments made by Michael Cohen on behalf of Donald Trump before the dates she had previously claimed.[47]

In February 2020, it was announced that Hicks would return to the White House Office as an aide to Jared Kushner and counselor to President Donald Trump.[1]

Personal life

Hicks and her sister lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, but she split her time between an apartment there and an apartment in Manhattan. When Trump was elected, she moved to Washington, D.C.[20][25][27]

She was dating Rob Porter in 2018 when he resigned as White House staff secretary after abuse allegations from his two ex-wives were made public.[48][49]

See also
  • Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
  • Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections (July 2016–election day)
  • Timeline of post-election transition following Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
  • Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (January–June 2017)
  • Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (July–December 2017)
  • Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (January–June 2018)
  • Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2019–2020)

References
  1. Haberman, Maggie (February 13, 2020). "Hope Hicks to Return to the White House After a Nearly Two-Year Absence". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  2. Haberman, Maggie (September 12, 2017). "Hope Hicks Is Formally Named White House Communications Director". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  3. Phelps, Jordyn (March 29, 2018). "Trump bids farewell to close aide Hope Hicks". ABC News. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  4. Nelson, Rebecca. "Meet Donald Trump's 27-Year-Old Communications Director, Hope Hicks". Marie Clare. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  5. Nussbaum, Matthew. "Trump transition seeks distance from conservation fundraiser". Politico. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  6. Grynbaum, Michael (June 26, 2016). "The Woman Who 'Totally Understands' Donald Trump". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  7. Dangremond, Sam. "15 Things You Should Know About Hope Hicks, Donald Trump's Director of Strategic Communications". Town & Country. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016.
  8. Selter, Brian (October 8, 2018). "Former Trump aide Hope Hicks joins Fox as head of PR". CNN. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  9. "Hope Hicks Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer". Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  10. "Paul Hicks Weds Caye A. Cavender". The New York Times. May 16, 1982. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  11. Sebastian, Michael; Friedman, Megan (February 28, 2018). "16 Things to Know About Hope Hicks, President Trump's Communications Director". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018.
  12. Nuzzi, Olivia (June 20, 2016). "The Mystifying Triumph of Hope Hicks, Donald Trump's Right-Hand Woman". GQ. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  13. "Paul Hicks". LinkedIn. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  14. Viebeck, Elise (July 27, 2015). "Hope Hicks flies quietly in the eye of the Trump storm". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  15. "On The Campaign Trail With SMU Alum Hope Hicks '10, Donald Trump's Communications Director". Southern Methodist University Magazine. June 2016. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016.
  16. Vigdor, Neil (August 4, 2015). "Greenwich natives help Trump, Bush and Obama hone their message". Connecticut Post. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018.
  17. Nuzzi, Olivia (March 18, 2018). "What Hope Hicks Learned in Washington". New York Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  18. Koman, Tess (June 21, 2016). "Here's Why Donald Trump's 27-Year-Old Press Secretary Looks So Familiar". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016.
  19. Viser, Matt (November 10, 2016). "Hope Hicks Is Everything Her Boss Donald Trump Is Not". Town & Country. New York City. Retrieved November 23, 2016. At age 11 she and her older sister were hired to model for Ralph Lauren. Soon she was in the pages of national magazines and had a cameo on the soap opera Guiding Light. She became the face of the Hourglass Adventures, a series of novels for preteen girls featuring a 10-year-old who travels back in time.
  20. "Hope & change: The breakout star of Trump's campaign". Connecticut Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017.
  21. Hamilton, Matt (November 4, 2016). "From the Mag: A Public Relation". Lacrosse Magazine. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
  22. Diamond, Jeremy (November 27, 2017). "Hope Hicks: A witness to Trump's rise". CNN. Archived from the original on November 27, 2017.
  23. Clarke, Jenna (November 15, 2016). "Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway – the women of Donald Trump's inner circle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on February 27, 2017.
  24. Samuelshohn, Darren (November 16, 2017). "Hope Hicks may hold the keys to Mueller's Russia puzzle". Politico. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  25. Sherman, Gabriel (April 3, 2016). "Operation Trump: Inside the Most Unorthodox Campaign in Political History". New York. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  26. Tucker, Reed (September 25, 2015). "Meet Trump's 26-year-old mystery woman". New York Post. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  27. Dangremond, Sam (March 2, 2017). "Hope Hicks Was Responsible for an Important Line in the President's Speech". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017.
  28. Sebastian, Michael (June 21, 2016). "14 Things to Know About Hope Hicks, Donald Trump's 27-Year-Old Former Model Press Secretary". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2017.
  29. "Forbes 30 Under 30". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017.
  30. McBride, Jessica (August 16, 2017). "Hope Hicks & Donald Trump: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
  31. Ballhaus, Rebecca (September 12, 2017). "Hope Hicks Named Permanent White House Communications Director". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017.
  32. Raju, Manu; Herb, Jeremy (February 28, 2018). "Hicks acknowledges white lies, but won't talk White House in testimony". CNN. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  33. Haberman, Maggie (February 28, 2018). "Hope Hicks to Resign as White House Communications Director". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  34. Smith, Allan (February 28, 2018). "Hope Hicks, one of Trump's closest confidants and longest-tenured aide, is resigning". Business Insider. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  35. Rogers, Katie; Haberman, Maggie (March 29, 2018). "Hope Hicks is Gone, and It's Not Clear Who Can Replace Her". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  36. Bertrand, Natasha (March 4, 2019). "The House's Latest Move Could Be a Big Threat to Trump's Presidency". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  37. Bade, Rachael; Fuchs, Hailey (June 19, 2019). "White House bars former Trump aide from answering questions about her work in administration". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  38. Herb, Jeremy; Raju, Manu. "House panel issues subpoenas for Hope Hicks, Annie Donaldson". CNN.
  39. Brown, Pamela; Herb, Jeremy; Raju, Manu (June 4, 2019). "First on CNN: White House directs Hope Hicks, Annie Donaldson to withhold White House documents from House committee". CNN.
  40. Collins, Kaitlan; Liptak, Kevin (June 19, 2019). "Hicks stopped returning some of Trump's calls, now she's testifying". CNN. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  41. Shabad, Rebecca (June 21, 2019). "Hope Hicks stopped 155 times by White House lawyers from answering lawmakers' questions". NBC News. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  42. Stahl, Jeremy. "This Passage From Hope Hicks' Testimony Crystallizes the Inanity of the Democrats' Impeachment Stance". Slate. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  43. Wang, Christine (June 20, 2019). "House Democrats release 270-page transcript of Hope Hicks' closed-door testimony". CNBC. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  44. Stieb, Matt (June 20, 2019). "Six Takeaways From Hope Hicks's House Judiciary Testimony". Intelligencer. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  45. "Hope Hicks dodges questions from House Democrats: "It's a farce"". Salon. June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  46. "Hope Hicks' House committee testimony released". CNN. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  47. "New Cohen documents reveal calls with Trump, Enquirer publisher before payment". ABC News. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  48. "White House aide Rob Porter resigning amid abuse allegations". CBS News. February 8, 2018. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  49. "Trump is reportedly blaming Hope Hicks in the Porter scandal". Vox. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by
Anthony Scaramucci		 White House Director of Communications
2017–2018		 Succeeded by
Bill Shine
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