Sean Spicer may be moving backstage
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’s most public-facing operation that has long been the subject of President Donald Trump’s ire and criticism.
Spicer’s anticipated move away from the briefing-room podium, confirmed by a senior White House official, comes amid weeks of Trump’s 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.
“We have sought input from many people as we look to expand our communications operation,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement. “As he did in the beginning, Sean Spicer is managing both the communications and press office.”
No official announcement has been made about Spicer’s move, and discussions concerning his role are ongoing, including whether he would still occasionally appear from the podium.
Spicer’s retreat from public view has occurred slowly — yet publicly — over the past month. Early in Trump’s presidency, Spicer’s on-camera briefing was an almost-daily, must-watch occurrence — a combative, freewheeling spectacle between the press secretary and the restive press corps. Trump boasted that the Spicer show got incredible ratings, and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” parodied it week after week.
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.