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White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin to step down

White House deputy chief of staff for operations Joe Hagin prepares to board Air Force One to return home with Donald Trump fro Manila, Philippines: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
White House deputy chief of staff for operations Joe Hagin prepares to board Air Force One to return home with Donald Trump fro Manila, Philippines: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin is departing the administration after helping to orchestrate the historic meeting between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

After having served in multiple Republican presidential administrations stretching back to Ronald Reagan, Mr Hagin is expected to move to the private sector.

Officials hailed Mr Hagin for taking a lead role in planning this month's Singapore summit, which was the result of elaborate diplomatic manoeuvring and produced a pledge to eradicate Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

“Joe Hagin has been a huge asset to my administration. He planned and executed the longest and one of the most historic foreign trips ever made by a President, and he did it all perfectly,” Mr Trump said in a statement.

While the White House characterised Mr Hagin’s departure as a long-planned move, it will feed an ongoing cycle of the Trump administration churning rapidly through staffers.

The administration is now on its second chief of staff, after John Kelly ceded his leadership of the Department of Homeland Security to fill the vacancy left by former chief Reince Priebus, its third national security adviser and its second secretary of state.

Other prominent officials who have departed include top adviser Steve Bannon, former press secretary Sean Spicer, communication aides Anthony Scaramucci and Hope Hicks, and former staff secretary Rob Porter.