White House announces additions to press shop

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The White House is announcing additions to its press operation, in anticipation of a wave of subpoenas and hearing invitations from the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

Sources told Fox News that several new members will join the White House press shop, shifting from other roles in the White House.

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Stephen Groves, who is currently an assistant counsel in the White House, will move to be a deputy press secretary. Groves’ appointment is a newly-created role.

Also, Judd Deere, who was the White House Director of media affairs, will also become a deputy press secretary, taking over topics covering energy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and NASA.

Several other press aides have left the White House in recent months, including Ninio Fetalvo and Natalie Strom.

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The additions of Groves and Deere come amid several House Committee investigations focused on the president and lawmakers’ impeachment threats.

There are currently three House committees running Trump-focused investigations:

The House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is investigating the president, after the panel, formerly led by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., probed allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election as well as the law enforcement and intelligence community’s handling.

Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, just this month dissolved the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, and redirected resources for the panel to instead focus on investigations into whether the president’s relationships and communications with foreign leaders, as well as Trump’s financial dealings with certain countries in the Middle East and Russia, has “affected what he’s done in foreign policy.” The subcommittee's former duties and responsibilities have since been placed under the jurisdiction of other subcommittees.

The Democratic chairman, who has been in Congress for nearly three decades representing areas of the Bronx and Westchester County, said that there “wasn’t a great clamor” from lawmakers to keep the terrorism panel.

“I’ve been clear that oversight will be a priority of mine as Chairman, and part of that is reestablishing a Foreign Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, which existed for much of the last 20 years. Of course the Committee will still deal with the threat of terrorism. In fact, we’re expanding the jurisdiction of our subcommittees for different parts of the world to include terrorism so they’re better able to grapple with this problem with a regional focus,” Engel said.

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Also, House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., was slated to hold a public hearing for former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen to testify. Cohen and his attorney canceled the appearance, which was scheduled for Feb. 7, and have yet to reschedule. On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., subpoenaed Cohen after he canceled his House appearance. It is unclear when Cohen will testify.