Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White to step down

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White stepped down from her role in the Trump administration on Monday, capping just over a year and a half in the top communications role.

“I appreciate the opportunity afforded to me by this administration to serve alongside Secretary Mattis, our Service members and all the civilians who support them. It has been my honor and privilege,” White wrote on Twitter Monday afternoon. “Stay safe and God bless.”

White’s announced exit comes on the heels of the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis, whose last day is Monday.

White will also serve her final day in the Pentagon on Monday, a Defense Department spokesman confirmed. Charles Summers, her deputy, will assume the role in an acting capacity on Tuesday. 

White had at times been a source of controversy in the department. Reports surfaced in August that she was being investigated by the Pentagon inspector general for allegedly misusing staff by directing them to run personal errands for her and later retaliating against them.

White’s abrupt departure is the latest sign of turnover in the Trump administration.

Mattis announced on Dec. 20 that he would resign, citing policy differences with President Trump. The news came the day after Trump announced his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, for which he has received broad criticism. Mattis initially planned to leave in late February, though Trump later announced that Patrick Shanahan, Mattis’s deputy, would serve as acting Defense secretary beginning in January. 

White was tapped as spokesperson for the Defense Department in April 2017, replacing Peter Cook, who had left the role in January before Trump’s inauguration. Before that, White founded and served as CEO of a Washington, D.C., strategic communications firm, 1055 Grady LLC.