Good Thursday morning, I'm Anna Palmer, and welcome to your Politico Playbook audio briefing,

sponsored by the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs.

Happy First Day of March, the happiest month for college basketball fans.

Per usual, it was a whirlwind yesterday in Washington.

Let's take the news on order of importance.

Hope Hicks, Trump's communications director, is resigning.

She made the decision one day after telling the House Intel Committee that she periodically lies for the president.

So here's the big question. Who would want the communications director job?

Well, it might be tough to convince someone on the outside of 1600 Pennsylvania.

The constant drumbeat of investigations could make it a lot less attractive.

People on Capitol Hill and in the White House really like Mercedes Slap for communications

director.

She is as traditional an operator as it gets in this White House.

A more out-of-the-box choice?

Stephen Miller. He survived and thrived,

with Trump taking his advice on many issues. If not them, this could be a big problem for the

White House. They struggled to recruit fresh talent in the West Wing. With the continued drama

surrounding the Russia investigation, a wildcard boss who flouts traditional Republican

positions and is known to turn on senior level staff at a whim, it's hard to see the A, B, or

even C team of Republican communications operatives looking to make the jump to the White House.

Politico reported last night that Hicks gathered staff in Sarah Huckabee Sanders' office last night

to announce her plans. Staff applauded her after she finished talking. One Hicks friend

...