WASHINGTON -- President Trump has hired Fox News executive Bill Shine to head up the his communications team, the White House said Thursday. Shine, who lost his job at Fox amid criticism of how the company handled sexual harassment complaints, will hold the title of Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications. Trump has described Fox as his favorite news network. The president considered numerous candidates for the communications slot since longtime aide Hope Hicks left the White House in March. More:Bill Shine, ex-Fox News exec, to join Trump White House in top communications job More:Fox News co-head Bill Shine leaves as network faces mounting discrimination suits More:Former Fox News boss Roger Ailes hit with another sexual discrimination lawsuit A veteran executive at Fox, Shine left the company a year ago amid a scandal at the news organization over a string of sexual harassment complaints. He departed 10 months after former Fox chairman Roger Ailes was removed over harassment allegations. Shine himself was never accused of harassment, but lawsuits accused him of helping to cover up Ailes' behavior and disregarding the claims of women who came forward. Shine has denied any wrongdoing. Shine's hiring was the latest staff change in a White House marked by a series of shakeups. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer initially held the the communications director title as well. His replacement in the latter role, Mike Dubke, lasted a little less than three months. Trump appointed supporter Anthony Scaramucci to the job a year ago, but he lasted only 10 days after giving an interview to a journalist with the New Yorker in which he used crude language to disparage his colleagues. Overall, the Trump administration has had the highest turnover rate among top-level staff members of any recent president, said a new report from Martha Joynt Kumar, a political science professor at Towson University who specializes in White House transitions and staffing. By the 17-month mark, Trump lost 61% of of high-level staff members, Kumar said, topping President Bill Clinton's 42% turnover rate among the last five presidents.<doc-sep>White House Chief of Staff John Kelly awaits fthe start of a jobs creation pledge event in the East Room of the White House July 19, 2018 in Washington, DC. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) US candidate to the head of International Organization for Migration (IOM) Ken Isaacs looks on during a press briefing on March 19, 2018 in Geneva. John Kelly answers questions during a press conference related to President Donald Trump's recent executive order concerning travel and refugees, January 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Sonny Perdue, President TrumpÕs nominee to lead the Agriculture Department, takes his seat as he arrives for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on Capitol Hill, March 23, 2017 in Washington. Previously, Perdue served as the governor of Gerogia from 2003 to 2011. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Donald Trump welcomes retired United States Marine Corps general James Mattis as they pose for a photo before their meeting at Trump International Golf Club, November 19, 2016 in Bedminster Township, New Jersey. US President Donald Trump prepares to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on October 1, 2018. (CNN) — Veteran Fox News executive Bill Shine is President Trump’s new right-hand-man for White House communications. The appointment was announced on Thursday afternoon, shortly before Shine joined Trump on a trip to Montana. Shine’s title is Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications His move from Fox to the White House further solidifies the backscratching relationship between TV network and Trump’s orbit. But it’s especially eyebrow-raising because Shine resigned last year amid a flurry of sexual harassment allegations within the network. Shine was a key deputy of powerful Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. When Ailes was accused of sexual harassment by numerous women in 2016, Shine was accused of covering up the alleged misdeeds. Some of the accounts portrayed Shine as Ailes’ protector and fixer. Shine was named in at least four lawsuits or allegations related to alleged sexual harassment or racial discrimination at the network. He has denied all wrongdoing. And he has never been accused of harassment himself. The liberal group UltraViolet issued a statement calling Shine’s hiring “disturbing” but “unsurprising.” The group said the “Trump White House has been a revolving door of sexual abusers and their enablers.” For years, Bill Shine covered up Roger Ailes' and Bill O’Reilly’s sexual harassment and retaliated against women who reported their abuse. While disturbing, Shine's appointment to White House communications team is unsurprising. Abusers and their enablers love hiring each other. pic.twitter.com/HDxVSuedyu — UltraViolet (Text JOIN to 98688) (@UltraViolet) July 5, 2018 The National Women’s Law Center, another group staunchly critical of Trump, said “the President’s choice runs counter to widespread efforts to address and prevent sexual harassment at this moment of reckoning. This country deserves better.” When Ailes was forced out of Fox News in July 2016, Shine was initially promoted to co-president. But this turned out to be just a transition period. He resigned in May 2017, in part due to his reputation being tainted from the Ailes scandals. Shine also had powerful supporters. Shine and Sean Hannity rose up the ranks at Fox News together, and the two men remain close friends. Hannity is now Fox’s biggest star and the president’s biggest booster. CNN previously reported that Hannity pushed the idea of Shine joining the White House behind the scenes. Shine’s imminent hiring was reported last week. And he was seen at the White House earlier this week. The reports prompted two of Shine’s critics in the right-wing media world to resurface the Ailes-era allegations against Shine. Newsmax, run by Trump friend Chris Ruddy, published several critical stories. And conservative activist Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch, told The Daily Beast, “I don’t want so see the ghost of Roger Ailes running the White House communications operation.” Klayman said Shine’s handling of harassment claims needed to be investigated. Reaction to Shine’s hiring included some negative responses from those who used to work for him or Fox News. “I say this as someone who was on Fox for a decade and had no beef (though little interaction) with Bill Shine: It’s a disgrace that a man who, it turns out, enabled and covered up truly repulsive behavior by Roger Ailes, would get a senior White House job,” said Bill Kristol, editor at large of The Weekly Standard in a tweet. And two years to the day former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the network, quoted a story on Twitter and talked about the impact of “giving women a voice, letting them know you can be believed … and say enough is enough.” One of the president’s sons, Donald Trump, Jr., predicted the criticism in a tweet on Thursday afternoon. “On your marks, get set…. how long till the liberal media and snowflakes start taking shots at the great Bill Shine? Competent, hard working and a believer in making America great again!” Trump Jr. wrote. On your marks, get set.... how long till the liberal media and snowflakes start taking shots at the great Bill Shine? Competent, hard working and a believer in making America great again! https://t.co/iqJqSiIOs7 — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 5, 2018 Thursday’s White House statement about the appointment highlighted Shine’s past experience with Fox News. “[Shine] brings over two decades of television programming, communications, and management experience to the role. Previously, Mr. Shine served as Co-President of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network,” it read. This story has been updated to accurately reflect Shine’s outgoing position at Fox News. CNN’s Maegan Vazquez contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Former Fox News executive Bill Shine will be assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for communications. | Getty Trump hires former Fox News executive Bill Shine as communications chief President Donald Trump has hired former Fox News executive Bill Shine to lead his communications team, the White House announced on Thursday. “He brings over two decades of television programming, communications, and management experience to the role,” the White House said in a statement announcing the hire. Shine’s official title will be assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for communications. Shine was forced out of Fox News in May 2017 over his handling of sexual harassment claims at the company. He will be the first official head of the White House communications department since longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks left the position in March. Shine will be Trump’s fifth communications chief, succeeding Hicks, Anthony Scaramucci, Sean Spicer — who also worked as press secretary — and Michael Dubke. The addition of Shine further solidifies Fox News’ relationship with the White House and also brings into the West Wing a target of the “Me Too” movement who could draw further attention to accusations by women against Trump.<doc-sep>US candidate to the head of International Organization for Migration (IOM) Ken Isaacs looks on during a press briefing on March 19, 2018 in Geneva. Sonny Perdue, President TrumpÕs nominee to lead the Agriculture Department, takes his seat as he arrives for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on Capitol Hill, March 23, 2017 in Washington. Previously, Perdue served as the governor of Gerogia from 2003 to 2011. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Donald Trump welcomes retired United States Marine Corps general James Mattis as they pose for a photo before their meeting at Trump International Golf Club, November 19, 2016 in Bedminster Township, New Jersey. (CNN) — The news, when it came, couldn’t have seemed more humdrum. Entitled “President Donald J. Trump Announces Senior Staff Appointment,” the press release from the White House read simply: “President Donald J. Trump announced today that Bill Shine will join the White House staff. Mr. Shine will serve as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications. He brings over two decades of television programming, communications, and management experience to the role. Previously, Mr. Shine served as Co-President of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.” Wait, what? Look. It is the week of the Fourth of July. People are out of town. Lots of them. And, yes, we have known for a while that Shine was going to join the Trump White House. But none of that changes the fact that this is a very big story – and not for the reason you probably think. Yes, Shine is a close confidante of Sean Hannity, the Fox News Channel host and the most powerful informal adviser to Trump. And yes, Shine was a longtime protege of the late Fox News head Roger Ailes. But the fact that Trump views his presidency – and the world – through the decidedly distorted lens of Fox News isn’t new. Having Shine in the White House means that Trump will likely go deeper down that rabbit hole – if that’s even possible. The real story here – and why this should be a very big deal – is the fact that Shine resigned last year after being accused of covering up a series of sexual harassment scandals involving on-air talent at the network over the last several decades. When Shine was elevated to the co-president in the wake of Ailes’$2 2016 resignation in the wake of accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior with co-workers, there was grumbling within the network. Wrote Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman in 2017: “Shine’s continued leadership has angered many Fox News employees, especially women, who view him as a product of the misogynistic Ailes culture. Shine joined the network in 1996, served as Sean Hannity’s producer, and rose through the ranks to become Ailes’s deputy. In that role, sources say he had the power to stop multiple instances of sexual harassment, including that of former Fox booker Laurie Luhn, but did not do so. (Through a Fox News spokesperson, Shine denies this.) He’s currently a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed this week by former Fox host Andrea Tantaros.” Days after Sherman wrote those words, Shine was out – resigning on May 2, 2017. Shine was named in at least four lawsuits or allegations related to alleged sexual harassment or racial discrimination at the network. He has denied all wrongdoing. Tantaros’ lawsuit was later dismissed. But the idea – at the time – was that while Shine had never himself been accused of any sort of wrongdoing, he had been a leading part of a culture that was toxic to women. The swamp at Fox had to be drained, and Shine was part of that process. Lisa Bloom, an attorney involved in several of the lawsuits, tweeted: “Having rep’d several Fox News accusers, let me tell you: it’s worse than that. Mr. Shine has been accused over and over again of covering up for accused harassers Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and others, while the women were driven out of the industry entirely. #FillTheSwamp” And now Shine works in the White House! As a deputy chief of staff and the de facto communications director! That, in and of itself, should be a big deal. Shine has never made clear what role – if any – he played in the cover-up of the inappropriate actions of Ailes and Fox News one-time star Bill O’Reilly, who was also fired after it was revealed he had settled a number of sexual harassment lawsuits. Once O’Reilly was fired, interest in him flagged – making it possible for Shine to not really answer questions about his behavior. But now Shine works for the American taxpayer. And he is one of the top advisers to the most powerful person in the country. Which changes things. Considerably. Tweeted Gretchen Carlson, who began all of this when she filed suit against Ailes in 2016, on the news of Shine’s hire: “This …. on the 2 year anniversary eve of filing my harassment lawsuit; giving women a voice, letting them know you can be believed, launching a national movement to stand up and speak up and say enough is enough. Life … works in mysterious ways. #BeFierce” Then there is the fact that Trump’s willingness to ignore questions surrounding Shine – what he knew, when he knew it and what (if anything) he did about it – appears to be a feature, not a glitch of this White House. Remember that chief of staff John Kelly was initially supportive of White House social secretary Rob Porter amid allegations that he has abused both of his ex-wives. Kelly was one of a handful of senior White House aides who knew of the allegations of domestic abuse against Porter for months before the story went public and Porter resigned in February. Days after Porter resigned, Trump was still defending his one-time aide publicly; “He says he’s innocent and I think you have to remember that. He said very strongly yesterday that he’s innocent, but you’ll have to talk to him about that,” Trump said.<doc-sep>
Fox News President Bill Shine departs after meeting with then-President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, November 21, 2016. The former top TV executive "brings over two decades of television programming, communications, and management experience to the role," the White House said in a statement. Shine will join the White House staff as President Donald Trump 's assistant and deputy chief of staff for communications. Bill Shine, who was co-president of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, has officially joined the Trump administration, the White House said Thursday. Shine resigned from Fox in May 2017, trailing the departure of Fox's ex-chairman, Roger Ailes, who resigned 10 months earlier after being accused of sexual harassment by a former host. Less than a month before Shine resigned, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly was removed from the network amid his own allegations of sexual harassment. Both Ailes, who died less than a year after his departure, and O'Reilly denied the allegations. Shine had been at Fox News since it launched more than 20 years ago. His departure had been strongly protested by Sean Hannity, the network's most popular host and pundit, who was reportedly longtime friends with Shine. When rumors of Shine's ouster began to surface, Hannity said on Twitter that such a move would be "the total end of the FNC as we know it. Done." Sean Hannity tweet Hannity, one of Trump's most loyal and outspoken defenders, reportedly has been described by White House advisors as a de facto member of the administration and even a "shadow" chief of staff. Trump regularly touts Fox News, especially on social media, while bashing other media outlets as "fake news." Shine was in talks with Trump administration officials to become the White House communications director, people familiar with the matter told CNBC in June. The post was vacated in March by Hope Hicks, the fourth to serve in the role under Trump. Shine will accompany Trump aboard Air Force One on Thursday to a rally in Montana, Axios reported, where the president is expected to drum up support for Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale, as well as incumbent Rep. Greg Gianforte, in the midterm elections. As Shine joins Trump's team, Joe Hagin, White House deputy chief of staff for operations, is preparing to resign. Hagin had been credited as being a key player in the unprecedented summit last month between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He will step down Friday.