Mike Dubke to be named as White House communications director

Crossroads Media
founder Mike Dubke is expected to be named as
White House Communications Director, two
administration officials tell CNN.

The appointment is expected to be announced as
early as Friday, the officials say.
The expected appointment is rankling some inside
the White House, with longtime Trump loyalists
inside and outside the West Wing saying they
would have preferred a veteran from the
campaign.

"Dubke and his Crossroads friends did everything
they could to kill the Trump movement and
failed," one loyalist said.
Former Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller
was originally tapped to serve as communications
director for the White House, but Miller stepped
aside before Inauguration Day to spend more time
with his family.
Dubke did not respond to a CNN request for
comment.

Dubke founded Crossroads Media in 2001 and
brought it to a level of national prominence during
the 2008 presidential campaign. It is "the premier
Republican media services firm," according to a
description on its website . And Dubke has "a
unique understanding of the relationship between
political strategy and public policy development,"
the website explains.
Relief for Spicer
The appointment is expected to take some of the
heat off embattled press secretary Sean Spicer,
who has endured a rocky start to his tenure as
the official spokesman for the administration.

Until now, Spicer has served as both White House
press secretary and communications director for
the new administration. Those roles are typically
filled by two staffers.

Crossroads Media is a political admaker based in
Alexandria, Virginia, that has served both super
PAC American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS.
American Crossroads was founded in part by Karl
Rove, a senior strategist for former president
George W. Bush.

During the 2016 campaign, Rove once referred to
then-candidate Trump as "a petty man consumed
by resentment and bitterness."
Crossroads GPS, a companion group of American
Crossroads, is listed on the Crossroads Media
website as one of its top clients.

Asked to comment about the connections, a White
House official said none of Dubke's ads attacked
Trump during the campaign.

Source: CNN