Alyssa Farah: White House communications director resigns in first apparent nod to Trump’s defeat
White House communications director Alyssa Farah resigned on Thursday, the first seeming acknowledgment of the president’s loss from his senior staff since the election.
In her resignation letter, Ms Farah referred to the administration in the past tense, and wrote that she is “deeply proud of the incredible things we were able to accomplish to make our country stronger, safer, and more secure," according to the Washington Post, which reported the departure.
Ms Farah, 31, began her time in the Trump administration as vice president Mike Pence’s press secretary then took a position at the Defense Department before rejoining the White House in April.
Other than the communications chief, the only high-profile official to come close to acknowledging what happened on election day has been national security adviser Robert O’Brien, who told a security conference in mid-November it looked like Joe Biden was “obviously” headed toward an election win and there would be a “very professional transition."
The rest of the administration, including the president, have been straddling a bizarre line, suffering defeat after defeat in court and subtly moving towards a transition to a Biden administration while insistently claiming they won but for massive, obvious voter fraud.
For instance, in late November, the president publicly backed the General Services Administration to begin freeing up transition funds and other logistical support for the incoming Biden administration, while also claiming “we will prevail."
I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 23, 2020
Numerous Republican officials, both in- and outside the administration, have also said they haven’t found any meaningful voting irregularities that would have changed the election result, including Mr Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr, as well as GOP state officials in places like Arizona and Georgia.