Another Trump Aide Departs White House

The White House has announced the departure of deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin, aide who led the planning for President Donald Trump’s meeting last week with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Hagin becomes the latest to depart the Trump administration. According to local media, more than 60 percent of those who served in senior positions at the beginning of the administration have exited.

The 62-year-old has served in every Republican White House since the Reagan administration. He held the same title in George W. Bush’s White House.

“Joe Hagin has been a huge asset to my administration,” said Trump, while thanking him for planning and executing “one of the most historic foreign trips ever made by a president.”

Hagin was recruited to the Trump White House by former chief of staff Reince Priebus to bring a seasoned hand to a West Wing that had few experienced veterans. He had planned on staying only six months to a year, and considered leaving in the spring, but delayed due to planning for the Singapore summit.

According to Times, after departing Singapore last week, Trump made a rare appearance in the staff cabin of Air Force One to praise Hagin for organizing the Kim summit and led White House staff in a round of applause for the aide.