Former Fox News co-president Bill Shine has discussed the possibility of working for President Donald Trump’s administration with White House officials, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The New York Times reported, citing several unnamed sources briefed on the discussions, that Shine discussed the possibility of joining the White House communications team, which has been the center of recent administration turmoil.
Two unnamed senior administration officials confirmed the New York Times’ account of Shine’s discussions, and a third unnamed source said the White House was “considering a behind-the-scenes role” for the former Fox News executive.
Shine, an ally to former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, left the network in May amid allegations that he helped cover up sexual harassment at the company and retaliated against employees who reported such allegations.
Ryan Lizza, a reporter for the New Yorker, reported last week that Shine joined Trump for dinner at the White House.
Hannity, who was also present at the dinner, told the New York Times via a network spokeswoman that Shine’s future job prospects at the administration did not come up during the meal.
The other dinner guest, Anthony Scaramucci, had already set in motion a rapid-fire series of staff shake-ups on Trump’s communications team. Named to the position of communications director just days earlier, Scaramucci’s ascent drove Sean Spicer to resign as White House press secretary within hours of his appointment.
Within a week of Scaramucci coming onboard, Reince Priebus resigned as Trump’s chief of staff, and days later Scaramucci was also out on the street, having brought a typically low-profile job into the national spotlight.
Ironically, Scaramucci’s dinner with Trump, Hannity and Shine might have been the final straw for the foul-mouthed New York financier. It was not clear why Scaramucci was so furious about Lizza’s report on his dinner date with the President and Fox News big-wigs, but he called Lizza the same day to demand that he name his sources, and pledged to “fucking kill all the leakers.”
