Omarosa Manigault Newman, one of the president’s most prominent African-American supporters will leave the administration, the White House announced in a statement.
Her resignation will become effective exactly one year after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
“Omarosa Manigault Newman resigned yesterday to pursue other opportunities. Her departure will not be effective until January 20, 2018. We wish her the best in future endeavors and are grateful for her service,” Sanders said.
President Trump expressed gratitude for Omarosa’s service on Twitter.
“Thank you Omarosa for your service! I wish you continued success,” he wrote on Wednesday night.
White House officials have long been speculating that Trump aides might leave the administration, and Manigault Newman only proves that an exodus from the White House is possible.
It was also announced last week that deputy national security adviser Dina Powell will also leave the administration at the beginning of next year.
Sources close to Trump say that Manigault Newman’s departure was expected, adding that the only thing that kept her in the White House was her friendship with Trump. According to an official, she did not “go quietly.” Manigault Newman joined the Trump White House as the director of communications at the White House Office of Public Liaison.
A former White House official said that a number of Newman’s colleagues were happy she was leaving, adding that Chief of Staff John Kelly had long wanted to fire her, which finally happened when she was escorted from the premises on Tuesday.
“People have long been unsure what she did at the White House,” the former official also noted, pointing out that many people in the White House were unsure what “value she brought” to the operation.
Manigault Newman was an outspoken supporter of the president and a high-profile surrogate with Trump’s African-American voters.
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