President Donald Trump has announced that White House press secretary Sarah Sanders will leave her post at the end of June, tweeting, "After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas."
Trump describes Sanders as a "warrior.” He is encouraging her to run for governor when she returns home to Arkansas, where her father, Governor Mike Huckabee, two-time GOP presidential candidate, once held the job.
Sanders is one of Trump's closest and most trusted White House aides and one of the few remaining who worked on his campaign. She was the first working mother and just the third woman to be named White House press secretary.
Sanders says serving Trump has been "the honor of a lifetime." She pledged to remain one of his "most outspoken and loyal supporters."
Sanders is married and has three young children. She hopes to spend more time with her family but doesn’t rule out President Trump’s suggestion. "I learned a long time ago never to rule anything out," she says.
Under her roughly two-year tenure as chief spokesperson for the White House, daily televised briefings led by the press secretary became a relic of the past. Sanders repeatedly sparred with reporters who aggressively questioned her about administration policy and controversies involving the White House. Sanders says she doesn’t regret scaling them back—leaving reporters to catch her on the White House driveway after network interviews.
Behind the scenes, Sanders worked to develop relationships with reporters, earning the respect and trust of many.
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. — Proverbs 22:1
(President Donald Trump speaks about White House press secretary Sarah Sanders in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 13, 2019, in Washington. Sanders is leaving her position at the end of the month. AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
