The White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Joseph Hagin, is planning to leave Trump’s administration soon. According to a report by The Washington Post, Hagin, who was in Singapore earlier this week helping to arrange the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, might resign his position after the meeting is finalized.
The Post reported that Hagin wants to fill CIA’s deputy director post, which was left empty after its former occupant, Gina Haspel was confirmed as the agency’s director in May.
However, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that there were no immediate personnel changes to be announced.
Hagin started working as deputy chief of staff the day Trump was inaugurated in 2017. He also occupied the same position from 2001 until 2008 under former President George W. Bush administration.
Both Hagin and Chief of Staff John Kelly were tasked to impose order on the chaotic White House staff that has regularly caused leaks and bad coverage of Trump’s presidency.
The Post acknowledged Hagin as a key player in the administration’s preparations for the June 12 summit between Trump and Kim, which will mark the first-ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean ruler.
Last month, Hagin was part of the delegation of U.S. officials that went to Singapore to start preparations for the summit. However, he returned after the North Koreans didn’t show up to the meeting. Trump then canceled the planned summit, citing Pyongyang’s “hostilities” towards the U.S.
Since the President canceled the summit, North Korea started a series of diplomatic efforts in order to assure Trump that they are serious in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
As a sign of good fate, North Korea invited journalists from dozens of countries to witness the destruction of one of their nuclear facilities.
Shortly after these events, President Trump announced that the summit is back on track.
Hagin returned to Singapore over Memorial Day weekend to make the final arrangements and to negotiate the logistics for the summit.
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