US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has announced that White House press spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sander is to leave the role at the end of the month.

The president tweeted the news evening, saying that Sanders is “a very special person with extraordinary talents”.

Sanders took over the role as government press secretary in 2017 after a short stint from Sean Spicer. 

She has often been criticised as being bullish and combative, overseeing White House communications during a period in which relations between the White House and the press has soured hugely. HOwever, Trump has always spoke favourably of Sanders and the job she has done. 

“After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansa,” Trump tweeted. 

She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job! I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas – she would be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for a job well done!

Sanders has been one of Trump’s most loyal foot soldiers, almost constantly at his side during his tumultuous White House tenure.

She is also seen as responsible for the demise of the formal daily briefing – practically an institution under previous presidents.

The last time she took to the podium for a back-and-forth with reporters in the White House briefing room was 11 March. Instead, she communicates largely through interviews on the president’s favorite TV network Fox News and short, informal briefings with other journalists outdoors.

She has also been accused of telling lies to reporters, although she denies this.

Despite Sanders’ damaged reputation in media circles, there’d been no hint from the administration that her exit was imminent.

Sanders’ father Mike Huckabee is a former Republican governor of Arkansas.

WIth reporting from © – AFP 2019