Jessica Ditto is the former White House Deputy Director of Communications.[1][2] She was a member of Donald Trump's presidential campaign and transition teams.[3][4]
Career
Ditto worked for Republican governors of Kentucky Ernie Fletcher (in office 2003–2007)[5] and Matt Bevin[6] (2015–2019) and also the Republican Party of Kentucky.[5]
2016 Trump campaign
In September 2016, Ditto was reported to be resigning as Gov. Bevin's spokeswoman to become deputy communications director of the Trump campaign.[5]
Also during October 2016, Ditto was a speaker for the campaign relative to the Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations including Karena Virginia's allegation of unwanted physical contact[7][8] and Tasha Dixon's allegation of a pageant dressing room visit.[9]
Trump presidential transition
Following the November 8 general election, Ditto was a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team. The transition team was a group of around 100 aides, policy experts, government affairs officials, and former government officials who were tasked with vetting, interviewing, and recommending individuals for top cabinet and staff roles in Trump's administration. She was part of the leadership staff.[10]
Trump administration
Ditto was named to her White House position in early January before the inauguration[11] and assumed it officially at the time of the inauguration.
In early April 2017, Ditto joined her boss Mike Dubke in a gathering of more than thirty staffers including also Kellyanne Conway to consider ways to "brand" the first 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency.[12]
In December 2018, Ditto was found to have violated the Hatch Act by the Office of the Special Counsel for using her official government social media account to engage in political activity.[13]
In March 2020, it was announced that Ditto will be leaving her job as deputy communications director to enter the private sector.[14]
References
- ^ Diamond, Jeremy (4 January 2017). "Christie's fired Bridgegate aide heads to Trump's White House". CNN.
- ^ Rucker, Philip. "Ayotte to lead White House team shepherding Supreme Court nominee". washingtonpost.com.
- ^ "Donald J. Trump for President Campaign adds deputy communications director Jessica Ditto". donaldjtrump.com. September 19, 2016. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ "Executive Office of the President Under Donald Trump". donaldjtrump.com. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Bevin spokeswoman leaving for Trump campaign" (partially conditional access), Associated Press via The Courier-Journal, September 19, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
- ^ Dewan, Bryan, "Kentucky’s Governor Dramatically Cut Education Funding. Now He’s Getting Sued.", ThinkProgress, April 12, 2016. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
- ^ "Tenth woman accuses Donald Trump of sexual misconduct". CBS News. October 20, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- ^ Koloff, Abbott, and Matthew McGrath, "Woman says Trump groped her at 1998 U.S. Open", The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record via freep.com, October 20, 2016. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
- ^ Kurtzleben, Danielle (October 13, 2016). "A List Of The Accusations About Trump's Alleged Inappropriate Sexual Conduct". NPR. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ^ Marans, Daniel (3 January 2017). "Trump's Trade Rep Pick Gets Some Actual Praise From Progressives". Huffington Post.
- ^ Nussbaum, Matthew (4 January 2017). "Trump announces 11 more White House hires". Politico. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Goldmacher, Shane, "White House on edge as 100-day judgment nears", Politico, April 10, 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
- ^ "Six White House officials violated the Hatch Act, agency finds". CNBC. 30 November 2018.
- ^ "What to Know in Washington: Policymakers Weigh Next Stimulus". Bloomberg Government. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-31.