In blow to Trump, top aide Hope Hicks to leave White House

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks leaves the U.S. Capitol after attending the House Intelligence Committee closed-door meeting in Washington, U.S. [Courtesy]

Hope Hicks, one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s longest-serving and most trusted aides, is resigning from her job as White House communications director, a blow to the president, whose inner circle has been depleted by firings and clouded by scandal.

The White House announced Hicks, 29, was leaving a day after she 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.