Former Fox News Channel executive Bill Shine is joining the White House as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for communications, the White House announced on Thursday.
The long-anticipated move follows weeks of speculation that the former Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network co-president was a front-runner for the job, which has remained vacant since former communications director Hope Hicks announced her resignation in February.
In a statement, the White House said Shine “brings over two decades of television programming, communications, and management experience to the role.” He will be tasked with establishing the broader message and tone of the president’s agenda.
Shine, who started his two-decadelong career at Fox News as a producer for the show Hannity & Colmes, was ousted from his role as co-president last year after lawsuits suggested he enabled alleged sexual harassment by the network’s late chairman and chief executive, Roger Ailes.
Shine had recently been seen at the White House and previously has met with President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He was spotted on Thursday afternoon getting into Trump’s motorcade, according to CNN.
With Thursday’s announcement, Shine becomes the fifth communications chief since Trump took office nearly 18 months ago.
Before Hicks, Anthony Scaramucci served 10 days in the role. He was preceded by Mike Dubke and Sean Spicer.
The move will bolster the White House’s messaging operation ahead of what is shaping up to be a fierce partisan battle over Trump’s choice for a successor to retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, set to be unveiled on Monday. It also comes ahead of a trip by Trump next week to Europe, where one of the most closely scrutinized items on the agenda will be the president’s one-on-one summit with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin.
Yet the appointment also is likely to open the White House up to attacks regarding Shine’s record at Fox, as well as the Trump administration’s response to sexual misconduct allegations against officials within its own ranks.
During his time at Fox, Shine helped to build the network into the media juggernaut it is today. But much like his mentor and patron, Ailes, Shine’s long tenure was clouded by unsavory allegations and associations with darker chapters in the network’s history. Ailes died in May 2017.
Trump himself has been accused of sexual harassment and improper behavior by more than a dozen women, accusations that he denies. And earlier this year, White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned amid reports that he had physically and emotionally abused his two ex-wives.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, was among those cheering Shine’s hiring on Thursday — while also anticipating a backlash from the left.
“On your marks, get set…. how long till the liberal media and snowflakes start taking shots at the great Bill Shine?” he tweeted.