White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah began inquiring about post-West Wing opportunities as early as February of this year, according to a source familiar with their conversations, who confirmed that both are likely to make an exit before the 2020 election kicks into full gear.
“Both had made similar types of comments going back to earlier this year, as far back as three or four months ago. There’s nothing imminent, but they have told friends they’re not sure how much longer they’ll be there,” a source close to the White House told the Washington Examiner.
Sanders rose from deputy press secretary to her regular position behind the podium following the departure of Sean Spicer last July. She has since become one of the president’s most trusted aides, often accompanying him on high-stakes foreign trips and regularly echoing his criticism of the media. During Trump’s working lunch with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this week, Sanders was the only communications official present.
“I think everybody has their own threshold for how much time they can spend in the barrel,” said the source close to the White House.
This person said neither Sanders nor Shah has ever complained “directly or indirectly about the president,” but that both are weighing their options as Trump’s re-election campaign draws nearer. Sanders dismissed speculation about her future plans in a tweet Wednesday evening, after CBS News first reported that she and Shah are considering stepping down.
“Does CBS News know something I don’t about my plans and my future? I was at my daughter’s year-end Kindergarten event and they ran a story about my ‘plans to leave the WH’ without even talking to me. I love my job and am honored to work for POTUS,” she wrote.
Sanders told reporters during Thursday’s press briefing that she prays “each and every day… for clarity and discernment on what my future looks like.”
“Right now, I think the country looks pretty good and I’m glad to get to be part of that process and I’m going to continue to do my job,” she added.
Shah has yet to comment publicly on whether he intends to leave the West Wing this year.
The dual departure of Sanders and Shah at the end of the year would be a destabilizing blow to the president’s communications operation, where several positions have been vacated over the past several months and sources describe morale as disturbingly low. The press shop has already endured more than any other division inside the West Wing: details of daily meetings have frequently leaked to reporters, statements from the podium have been contradicted or undermined by the president’s outside counsel, and three communications directors have come and gone — Michael Dubke, Anthony Scaramucci, and Hope Hicks.
And the coming months could only present more difficulties for Trump’s bare-bones communications team, as those inside and close to the White House expect more firings and staff shake-ups to occur.
“It is very common for folks to take other jobs throughout the administration. Some people have left recently [and] we expect that others will in the near future,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters at a breakfast in Washington earlier this month.
Others claim that nearly everybody in the West Wing is looking to cash in with a prestigious consulting gig before the end of the president’s first term or sooner, something one source described as “typical of any White House.”
“Anyone in that building who says they haven’t had similar thoughts [about leaving] is lying,” said the person close to the White House. “You can probably put on one hand the number of people who haven’t ever talked about leaving to their friends or family.”
