{"id":32625,"date":"2017-06-20T05:08:15","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T05:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=32625"},"modified":"2017-06-20T05:08:15","modified_gmt":"2017-06-20T05:08:15","slug":"spicer-may-leave-the-press-room-podium-behind-for-a-more-backstage-white-house-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/politics\/spicer-may-leave-the-press-room-podium-behind-for-a-more-backstage-white-house-role.html","title":{"rendered":"Spicer may leave the press room podium behind for a more backstage White House role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spicer may leave the press room podium behind for a more backstage White House role<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

White House press secretary Sean Spicer is expected to transition to a more behind-the-scenes role overseeing communications strategy, part of a broader overhaul of the administration\u2019s most public-facing operation that has long been the subject of President Trump\u2019s ire and criticism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spicer\u2019s anticipated move away from the briefing-room podium, confirmed by a senior White House official, comes amid weeks of Trump\u2019s frustration with his communications team, and after the White House had made overtures to a range of Republicans about taking jobs within the West Wing press operation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have sought input from many people as we look to expand our communications operation,\u201d Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement. \u201cAs he did in the beginning, Sean Spicer is managing both the communications and press office.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Politico and Bloomberg first reported the likely press-shop changes.<\/span><\/p>\n

No official announcement has been made about Spicer\u2019s move, and discussions concerning his role are ongoing, including whether he would still occasionally appear from the podium.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spicer\u2019s retreat from public view has occurred slowly \u2014 yet publicly \u2014 over the past month.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early in Trump\u2019s presidency, Spicer\u2019s on-camera briefing was an almost-daily, must-watch occurrence \u2014 a combative, freewheeling spectacle between the press secretary and the restive press corps. Trump boasted that the Spicer show got incredible ratings, and NBC\u2019s \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d parodied it week after week.<\/span><\/p>\n

But recently, the White House briefing had receded from its place of daily prominence, and Spicer with it. Spicer took to holding some briefings off-camera, as he did Monday, or deploying Sanders as his substitute, or inviting a Cabinet official to brief reporters. Some days, there has been no briefing at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

At one point, the White House considered deploying a rotating cast of briefers, in part to prevent the president, who has a short attention span, from growing bored or angry with his press secretary. And if Spicer ultimately steps away from the podium, it remains unclear whether the West Wing would fill the press secretary role with just one person.<\/span><\/p>\n

White House Communications Director Mike Dubke \u2014 a longtime Republican operative with an establishment pedigree who never quite jelled with Trump\u2019s chaotic, insurgent operation \u2014 resigned from his post last month, and Spicer has unofficially taken on some of Dubke\u2019s off-camera messaging duties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spicer, who has years of Washington communications experience, is expected to focus more on message development and strategy, rather than serving as one of the administration\u2019s most visible public figures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even before Dubke\u2019s resignation, the president had been frustrated with his communications team, which he felt was not always defending him as forcefully as he would have liked, or offering a clear, powerful message.<\/span><\/p>\n

And in recent weeks, the White House reached out to a number of seasoned Republican hands, feeling them out about jobs, from press secretary to the communications director role, according to someone familiar with the conversations. The Trump administration, however, has had trouble filling a number of posts, and the communications shop is no different.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump officials approached Laura Ingraham, a conservative talk-radio host and friend of the president; Geoff Morrell, who served as the Pentagon press secretary for more than four years under former defense secretary Robert Gates; and Scott Reed, the senior political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Martosko \u2014 the U.S. political editor of DailyMail.com, who during the campaign earned a reputation for flattering coverage of Trump, with whom he had a personal relationship \u2014 also recently spoke to West Wing officials about the communications operation but is not expected to be offered a role, a senior administration official said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The press shake-up underscores the president\u2019s dissatisfaction with his communications team \u2014 in February, he graded himself a \u201cC\u201d or \u201cC-plus\u201d on messaging \u2014 and Spicer as its most public figure from his perch behind the podium.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Trump had long provided mixed signals to Spicer, at times calling him to congratulate the press secretary on what a great a job he was doing, only to begin polling his friends and confidants about whether he should fire Spicer. On Monday, during his off-camera press briefing, Spicer seemed to inadvertently channel some of the uncertainty that comes from working under Trump. Asked if the president still has full confidence in his deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, Spicer replied, \u201cThe president has confidence in everyone who serves him in this administration.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/spicer-may-leave-the-press-room-podium-behind-for-a-more-backstage-white-house-role\/2017\/06\/19\/d7eb94e8-553a-11e7-b38e-35fd8e0c288f_story.html?utm_term=.25ad265ef572<\/span><\/p>\n

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