Raj Shah, an ally of former President Donald Trump and communications director to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), will be leaving his job on Capitol Hill by the end of the summer. The Epoch Times independently verified reports of Mr. Shah’s imminent departure.
Before joining the Capitol after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) ouster, Mr. Shah served as deputy press secretary in President Trump’s administration. He later left the position for a job as senior vice president at Fox News in July 2019, where he influenced coverage in a direction more favorable to President Trump.
Mr. Shah has been managing Mr. Johnson’s public image during a challenging time in Congress. He came into the position as part of the new team that replaced Mr. McCarthy, who had to deal with deep divisions within his thin majority while addressing issues that were sometimes unpopular with the GOP base.
During his tenure as communications director, Mr. Shah had to navigate the fallout of several decisions that led to a motion being brought against Mr. Johnson. One of the biggest standoffs occurred when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) brought an unsuccessful motion to vacate against Mr. Johnson, similar to the tactic that led to Mr. McCarthy’s ouster in October 2023.
Mr. Johnson faced criticism for relying heavily on Democrats’ support to secure a win, which cost him some support from within the Republican party. His decision to bring a stopgap funding bill to the floor, followed by combining remaining funding into a single omnibus bill that passed with Democratic help, also drew scrutiny.
This year, Mr. Johnson played a key role in the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without imposing stricter warrant requirements. He cast a decisive vote against the warrant requirement, further affecting his image with civil liberty hawks in his conference.
Additionally, Mr. Johnson helped Senate Democrats pass President Joe Biden’s foreign aid package, which included funding for Ukraine, Israel, and humanitarian assistance in Gaza but lacked funds for U.S. border security.
It remains uncertain what Mr. Shah’s future plans are after leaving his current position, as well as who will succeed him in his role.
