Hope Hicks to Resign as WH Communications Director

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks will be resigning in the coming weeks, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Maggie Haberman, who wrote the Times story, told CNN's Jake Tapper hicks has been considering the move for several weeks.

"There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump. I wish the President and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country," Hicks, 29, said in a written statement.

In a statment, President Donald Trump said Hicks is "outstanding and has done great work."

The news comes a day after Hicks, one of Trump’s most loyal advisers and counselors, told House investigators that she occasionally told white lies for President Donald Trump.

Hicks, though, during her Capitol Hill testimony insisted that she had not lied about matters relevant to the Russia investigation, according to the New York Times. She refused to answer questions about the Trump administration, saying she had been advised by lawyers not to do so, and Democrats on the panel tried to insist that Hicks be served with a subpoena. Hicks had already met with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team as part of its Russia probe.

She had come under fire lately for a pair of major White House controversies, including helping craft the administration’s response to allegations of physical and emotional abuse against Rob Porter, who resigned as White House staff secretary in early February.

White House chief of staff John Kelly called Porter a “man of true integrity and honor” who he “can’t say enough good things about,” in an initial statement Hicks reportedly helped craft. The statement remained for hours despite the release of jarring photos by both of Porter’s ex-wives, and as Porter announced his resignation.

Hicks was involved in the reporting of a damaging book on the White House, Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury,” that was published earlier this year. Hicks and another senior aide, Kellyanne Conway, were the first officials to consider a pitch from the author in February 2017, though they didn’t commit to officially participate in the book.

Hicks later told other Trump aides to speak with Wolff as long as they made positive comments, and some senior-most staff in the White House believed that Hicks had authorized their cooperation with the book, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump is said to be distraught about her decision to leave the White House.

“Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years,” Trump said in a statement. “She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person. I will miss having her by my side, but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I totally understood. I am sure we will work together again in the future.”

Hicks was named White House communications director in September, but was on Trump’s staff from the beginning of his presidency. Prior to joining the Trump campaign she had worked in public relations for the Trump Organization.

Hicks, a former model who worked for the Trump Organization, was the third communications director for Trump. Mike Dubke lasted just a few months while Anthony Scaramucci, his replacement, lasted less than two weeks.

The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this story.