Mike Dubke, White House communications director, resigns

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White House communications director Mike Dubke resigns

Kevin Corke reports from the White House

Veteran GOP strategist Mike Dubke resigned as White House communications director on Tuesday, Dubke confirmed to Fox News.

Asked about reports announcing his exit, Dubke told Fox News, “It is true.”

He added: "It has been a privilege to serve this president."

Dubke said in a message to friends and associates that his reason for leaving the post was "personal."

“The reasons for my departure are personal, but it has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration," Dubke wrote. "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.”

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus in a statement thanked Dubke "for his service to President Trump and this administration."

"Mike will assist with the transition and be a strong advocate for the President and the President's policies moving forward," Priebus said.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway also talked about Dubke’s departure Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.”

"I know he's worked very hard here but people in administrations tend to leave on their own volition as well," Conway said. "They find that working 18-hour days are maybe not what's best for them."

Dubke tendered his resignation on May 18, however, he offered to work through President Trump's first foreign trip and that offer was accepted. Dubke's tenure is open-ended and it's unclear if he'll officially depart the White House before a successor is named.

"What I will say is that he has expressed his desire to leave the White House and made very clear he would see through the president's international trip and come to work every day and work hard even through that trip because there was much to do here back at the White House," Conway said.

Conway downplayed reports that Dubke's leaving portends a more significant staffing shakeup to come.

"There's been a story a minute about that," she said. "It's easier to cover that than I guess learning the finer points about healthcare reform, tax reform, infrastructure, ISIS in retreat...In terms of 'staff shakeups,' I always read things that simply aren't true."

Dubke only took the communications director job in February, helping relieve White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who had initially shouldered the dual burden of crafting the administration's message and delivering that message at press briefings.

Fox News’ Serafin Gomez contributed to this report.