poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201705/2924/1155968404_5453533342001_5453523512001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump's communications director is out as larger shakeup looms Mike Dubke, who was on the job a little over three months, resigned May 18. 
 
 Mike Dubke, President Donald Trump’s communications director, has resigned as Trump considers a larger personnel shakeup to confront the growing scandals weighing down his administration. 
 
 The veteran GOP strategist privately announced his resignation in a meeting with the president on May 18, and Trump accepted immediately, Dubke said in an interview. He added that he offered to stay through Trump’s first foreign trip to ensure there was a smooth transition as he exited. 
 
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 Dubke, who spoke with POLITICO as he drove into the White House early Tuesday morning, said he expects to go back to Black Rock Group, his communications and public affairs firm. A White House official said press secretary Sean Spicer will return to his dual role as communications director until everything is sorted out. Axios first reported that Dubke was leaving. 
 
 “The reasons for my departure are personal, but it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration,” Dubke emailed friends Tuesday morning. “It has also been my distinct pleasure to work side-by-side, day-by-day with the staff of the communications and press departments. This White House is filled with some of the finest and hardest working men and women in the American Government.” 
 
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 Chief of staff Reince Priebus thanked Dubke for his service in a statement Tuesday. “Mike will assist with the transition and be a strong advocate for the President and the President's policies moving forward,” Priebus said. 
 
 Dubke’s exit comes as Trump considers larger staff changes as he tries to contain the deepening scandals related to ties between Russia and his campaign. 
 
 Trump returned to Washington this weekend facing not only congressional probes but the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Trump’s associates and Russia as the Kremlin allegedly tried to tip the election Trump’s way. Trump, whose tweets were largely restrained while he was abroad, returned to form Tuesday morning, writing that Germany has a “MASSIVE trade deficit” with the U.S. and pays “FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military.” 
 
 “Very bad for U.S.,” he said. “This will change.” 
 
 In subsequent tweets, Trump claimed Russian officials are laughing at America and “how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News.” He also recommended that the Senate do away with the legislative filibuster to advance health care legislation and approve tax cuts. Republicans, however, are already pursuing both issues with a budget procedure known as reconciliation that allows them to advance the measures with a simple majority. 
 
 The president rounded out his spree with retweets of his Memorial Day crowd size and an anonymously sourced Fox News report that says his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, didn’t suggest a Russian communications channel when he met with the Russian ambassador in December. 
 
 Beyond Dubke, Spicer, the press secretary, is expected to take on a reduced public role, though he is conducting the briefing later on Tuesday. Dubke, who was only on the job for a little over three months, had generally been seen as a Spicer ally in the White House. 
 
 Trump has also been in talks with former campaign aides Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie about taking on more formal roles, possibly in a crisis management function. Trump met with Lewandowski and Bossie in the White House on Monday, and the discussion centered on what role they could play, said one person briefed on the matter. 
 
 Trump is also said to have become more frustrated with Kushner, a top adviser who has become the subject of damaging reports alleging that he tried to set up secret communications with the Russians during the transition and failed to disclose multiple meetings with Russian officials. 
 
 However, it’s not clear that Trump would remove a family member, and Kushner’s lawyer said he is willing to cooperate with the various investigations into the matter. 
 
 White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday tried to downplay the idea of a staff shake-up and said Dubke has been professional about his departure. 
 
 “He has expressed his desire to leave the White House and made very clear that he would see through the president’s international trip and come to work every day and work hard even through that trip,” Conway told "Fox & Friends." 
 
 In a notoriously leak-prone White House, Dubke told POLITICO he was surprised that the news of his planned departure took 12 days to leak out. 
 
 A longtime Republican operative and establishment stalwart, Dubke never fit into a White House consumed by chaos. Some questioned why he and not a Trump loyalist was tapped for the communications director job. After being selected for the post, he began telling people in the administration that he never produced TV ads targeting Trump during the 2016 campaign — a move that was designed to reassure loyalists in the White House, but one that left some rankled. 
 
 There was also some awkwardness to Dubke’s role: internally, it was made clear he was subordinate to the press secretary, Spicer — an unusual set-up. Dubke also came under fire after POLITICO reported last month that the president didn’t have a foreign policy doctrine. 
 
 Trump told friends in recent weeks that he was unhappy with Dubke — and that he wondered why he never seemed to get positive press anymore. 
 
 As the president dwells on the scandals, the embattled communications wing has emerged as the center of possible change in the White House. It is seen as increasingly likely that Lewandowski and Bossie will take on some functions, though it remains unclear whether they will join the White House or work for Trump as outside advocates. Both have complex business dealings that would need to be untangled should they enter the administration in an official capacity. 
 
 The two fit the mold of what Trump is looking for. Both have reputations as cutthroat, hard-charging operatives, and both worked on Trump’s presidential campaign in senior roles. Lewandowski, however, was pushed out as campaign manager after a power struggle with campaign chairman Paul Manafort. And there are questions about how effective Lewandowski would be in a crisis management role, given how he has clashed with top Trump aides including Priebus and Kushner. 
 
 In recent days, the president has told aides he misses being around some of those who worked for him during the campaign and has talked about bringing the crew back together. 
 
 Other changes could also be in the works: While Spicer is likely to remain in the White House, Conway, a frequent Trump on-air surrogate, could take on a broader role. 
 
 Nolan D. McCaskill contributed to this report. ||||| President Donald Trump has set a deadline of July 4 for a shakeup of the White House that could include removing Reince Priebus as his chief of staff, according to two administration officials and three outside advisers familiar with the matter. 
 
 Although Trump has set deadlines for staff changes before, only to let them pass without pulling the trigger, the president is under more scrutiny than ever regarding the sprawling Russia investigation, which is intensifying the pressure on his White House team. 
 
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 Days after his return from his first foreign trip late last month, Trump berated Priebus in the Oval Office in front of his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie for the dysfunction in the White House, according to multiple sources familiar with the conversation. 
 
 Trump had been mulling bringing on Bossie as his deputy White House chief of staff and Lewandowski as a White House senior adviser with a portfolio that includes Russia, but he told the two at that meeting that they would not be joining the White House until Priebus had a fair chance to clean up shop, according to the sources. 
 
 “I’m giving you until July 4,” Trump said, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation. 
 
 “I don’t want them to come into this mess. If I’m going to clean house, they will come in as fresh blood.” 
 
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 White House press secretary Sean Spicer, in a statement on Sunday, disputed the idea that Priebus is facing a July 4 deadline. “Whoever is saying that is either a liar or out of the loop,” Spicer said. 
 
 The Independence Day deadline is timed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s deadline for passage of the health care bill through the chamber, which is also the start of the July 4th recess. Priebus took the brunt of the blame for the first failure to get a vote on the bill through the House, though the White House and Speaker Paul Ryan were ultimately able to secure its passage on a second try. 
 
 Talk of Trump’s July 4 deadline has made the rounds in the White House, but insiders and those close to the president are not holding their breath, given the perpetual talk that Priebus and other senior staffers are on the way out. 
 
 Trump’s first deadline for the firing of Priebus — and many staffers he brought on from the Republican National Committee — was the 100-day mark. 
 
 The president then considered the idea of a Memorial Day shakeup when he returned from the foreign trip. 
 
 “It’s become comical that every holiday becomes a referendum on Reince,” said one adviser to the president. 
 
 Sensing his impending doom even before he was criticized for fallout related to the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Priebus had joked, “I’ve got one foot on a banana peel and another out the door,” according to a person with knowledge of the conversation. 
 
 Deadlines haven’t been Trump’s only tactic for warning Priebus about his possible dismissal from the top of the administration. 
 
 Trump has openly floated the idea of other potential chiefs of staff, including former campaign aide David Urban and Wayne Berman, an executive at private equity giant Blackstone and adviser to Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman. Shortly after national security adviser Michael Flynn was fired in February, Trump invited New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to the White House to help brainstorm about a new chief of staff, according to a White House official and outside adviser with knowledge of the situation. 
 
 But those who have known Trump for years, such as his former campaign adviser Sam Nunberg, say the “You’re fired” persona associated with his “Apprentice” fame doesn’t match up with the man away from the cameras. 
 
 “I don’t think he likes to gratuitously fire people,” said Nunberg, who was himself fired by Trump. “He wants to give people chances.” 
 
 Another outside adviser who regularly speaks to the president said Trump often threatens employees with the prospect of being fired to motivate them to do better, prompt them to resign or use them as an example for other staffers of what it can be like to be on his bad side. 
 
 “Trump will literally ask anyone who will listen, ‘Do you think Reince is doing a good job?’ or ‘Do you think that I should get rid of him?’” said that adviser, who has been asked that question by Trump. 
 
 Trump has yet to allow Priebus to choose a deputy to replace his former deputy chief of staff, Katie Walsh. Walsh, a Priebus ally who worked with him at the RNC, was moved to an outside political group supporting Trump’s presidency after the failure to pass the first Obamacare repeal bill in March. 
 
 Former communications director Mike Dubke is a recent example of a White House staffer who was likely on the way out but decided to get ahead of it by offering his resignation, according to two White House officials. Dubke is now also helping with the outside political group. 
 
 But a former campaign official said Priebus has been more effective in recent weeks in bringing order to the White House, despite the chaos outside, including Comey’s dramatic testimony before the Senate last week and Trump’s subsequent accusations against him. 
 
 “For the first time in the White House, there’s true structure and discipline and order instilled, despite other distractions that might be out there,” the former official said. 
 
 “They are getting down to the work of governing and moving the ball forward.” 
 
 The White House just wrapped up “Infrastructure Week,” which provided a more focused message about Trump’s legislative agenda — even if it was largely drowned out by Comey’s testimony. And Trump is about to launch “Workforce Development Week,” during which he’ll travel to Wisconsin with his daughter Ivanka on Tuesday before delivering a “major policy speech” at the Department of Labor on Wednesday. 
 
 Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of Trump, cited the firings of former Trump Organization CEO Edward Tracy and Nicholas Ribis, CEO of Trump Atlantic City Associates, as examples of times that Trump made drastic personnel decisions. He likened the firings to Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre” and called them “sudden.” 
 
 He suggested that if and when Trump removes Priebus, it will be at an opportune time and with a landing pad. 
 
 “I think it would be fair to say, that with the entire Comey controversy, that’s a pretty good reason not to make a change at this exact moment,” Stone said. 
 
 “Even when he lets him go, he’s not going to fire him. He’ll just give him another meaningless post. Because it’s politics and it looks better that way. There’s no reason to offend [Priebus’] friends in the party, so they’ll find a much more important job for him.” 
 
 Priebus was brought on to the White House as a broker between Trump and the Republican establishment, specifically because of his close relationship with Ryan, with whom Trump has reportedly been disenchanted in recent weeks. 
 
 Trump has blamed Priebus for leaks out of the White House that he believes have come from disgruntled RNC staffers whom Preibus brought into the West Wing, two administration officials and three outside advisers said. He also blamed Spicer, who was brought on at Priebus’ behest, for the lack of a full-throated defense for his firing of Comey. 
 
 Many say Trump is unfairly placing the blame on Priebus, who faces an almost impossible task in trying to clean up a White House that has been laden with scandals relating to the Russia probe and the recent firing of Comey. But some point to disorganization even earlier than that, like the botched rollout of the health care bill and travel ban. 
 
 Trump has weighed the idea of moving Priebus to the role of ambassador to Greece, because of his Greek heritage. 
 
 Trump told Bossie that Priebus “will enjoy Greece,” according to two people with knowledge of the comment. 
 
 Another source close to the administration said Trump is aware of the optics of having a chief of staff leaving after only a few months, and does not want Priebus to leave with a shorter tenure than any other White House chief of staff in history. 
 
 Harry S. Truman was the first president to have a chief of staff. The shortest-serving chief of staff since then was James Baker, who served the last five months of the George H.W. Bush administration. Priebus has yet to reach his fifth month. 
 
 Nunberg argued that Trump may feel less comfortable shaking up the West Wing than he did making major changes to the Trump Organization. 
 
 “The White House is different. You can’t make quick changes; it’s an institution. Once someone is gone from there, they’re gone,” Nunberg said. 
 
 “With that said, I think Reince will be there for the long haul.”
– Rumors of major restructuring of White House staff have been circulating in recent days, and on Tuesday the first shoe may have dropped in the form of Mike Dubke, President Trump's communications director. Axios reports that Dubke offered Trump his resignation on May 18, though he offered to stay on at least until the president's overseas trip had wrapped up. A senior administration official notes Dubke is leaving on friendly footing, and he's still reporting for work—in fact, Politico nabbed him for an interview as he was driving into the White House on Tuesday. It's not clear yet when his last day will be, though he plans to return to the Black Rock Group communications firm once he exits the White House. "The reasons for my departure are personal, but it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration," Dubke said in a Tuesday morning email. Dubke told Politico he was shocked it took nearly two weeks for news of his resignation to get out. Axios notes Dubke's sayonara is just the "start of a wave of changes." Sean Spicer is expected to take on a downplayed role, though it's unclear where the fates of Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner lie. Axios reports Trump is rumored to be considering bringing on "killers," including GOP lobbyist David Urban and former campaign aides David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski, the latter being one who "experience suggests … will not only indulge Trump's most combative instincts, but goad them." In other anticipated changes, an official says Trump plans on serving more often as the White House's spokesperson. "He says things exactly the way he wants them to be said," the official notes.