Republican Raj Shah to Resign as Speaker Mike Johnson’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications
- The Indian American previously served as White House deputy press secretary under former President Donald Trump.
Raj Shah, deputy chief of staff for communications for House Speaker Mike Johnson will leave his post later this month. The Indian American has “ served as a key link to Trump allies as the Louisiana Republican has faced threats to his gavel from conservative hardliners,” Axios reported.
“It’s an honor to serve Speaker Johnson, especially through such a historic time,” Shah said in a statement. “He has shown tremendous leadership navigating the conference through difficult issues. Speaker Johnson has developed an authentic brand of a strong leader willing to make tough calls and place our nation and the institution first.
The speaker also thanked Shah for agreeing to “step up and serve.” He described his as “a trusted advisor,” who “built an incredible communications team.” He said Shah has “fulfilled his commitment to us and I wish him continued success.”
Shah’s “planned exit comes on the heels of multiple policy staffers for Johnson — who also worked for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — announcing they are leaving their positions,” the Axios report said.
This role was a Capitol Hill debut for the former Fox executive. He previously worked at the RNC for Chair Reince Priebus. And later, he was the White House deputy press secretary under former President Donald Trump when Priebus was chief of staff. Shah also worked at the Fox Corporation after leaving the White House. Before joining Fox Corp., he was a partner at Ballard Media Group.
He made headlines last year when his texts and emails were exposed to Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against the network, which was settled for more than $787 million in April.