Potomac Flacks

Veteran GOP communicator Heye Joins CRAFT as SVP

CRAFT | Media / Digital has named media veteran and CNN contributor Doug Heye as Senior Vice President of Media.

Heye will advise clients on crisis communications, media relations, and executive positioning, adding to CRAFT’s strategic capabilities. Heye will also lead client communications efforts specific to economic recovery for business and industry sectors.

Heye has led political and public affairs strategies since 1990, served on Capitol Hill for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, was Communications Director for the Republican National Committee, and served as Press Secretary to the Small Business Administration. Heye was a resident fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics focusing on crisis messaging and management. (Release)

NYT: McEnany Named New White House Press Secretary; Farah Also Joining Comms Team

The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reports, "Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, is rejoining the staff of Melania Trump, the first lady, and Kayleigh McEnany, a campaign spokeswoman will replace her — the latest shake-up in a communications office that has been seen almost constant turnover under President Trump. Ms. McEnany has been a vocal defender of Mr. Trump on television, the main role the president has long believed the press secretary should play, according to current and former advisers. Her hiring is the first major personnel move by the incoming White House chief of staff, former Representative Mark Meadows of South Carolina. It was first reported by CNN. Ms. Grisham, who never held a press briefing in her nine-month tenure as the president’s spokeswoman, will become Mrs. Trump’s chief of staff, replacing Lindsay Reynolds, who resigned, according a statement from the first lady’s office. 

Also joining the White House press staff will be Alyssa Farah, a top spokeswoman at the Defense Department who once worked for Vice President Mike Pence, according to people briefed on the moves. Ms. Farah is close with Mr. Meadows, whose longtime congressional aide, Ben Williamson, will also join the communications team as an adviser. It is unclear whether Ms. McEnany will revive the traditional role of a White House press secretary — answering questions from reporters in a daily briefing. Mr. Meadows wants her to focus on defending the president on television, according to people familiar with the move. Ms. McEnany, 31 and a graduate of Harvard Law School, was a frequent surrogate for the president, touting Mr. Trump’s policies on network television before she formally joined Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign. Mr. Meadows has clashed with Ms. Grisham, a Trump loyalist who was one of the few remaining advisers who worked on the president’s 2016 campaign, targeting her as someone he wanted to replace, according to administration officials." (New York Times)

Politico: Stephanie Grisham out as White House press secretary

Politico's Meredith McGraw reports that, "White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham will leave her position as President Donald Trump's chief spokeswoman, two sources familiar with the move said Tuesday. She is expected to return to the White House's East Wing, where she worked before becoming press secretary, and work for first lady Melania Trump. Grisham, who stepped into the job less than a year ago, did not host a press briefing at any point during her tenure and maintained a considerably lower profile than her predecessors in the job, Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders." (Politico)

Emergent BioSolutions Appoints Nina DeLorenzo as Senior Vice President of Global Public Affairs

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. today announced the appointment of Nina DeLorenzo to the position of senior vice president for global public affairs. DeLorenzo will oversee external relations, corporate communications, advocacy, and corporate social responsibility. She will be responsible for developing and leading the company’s global public affairs strategy and providing strategic communications counsel to the executive management team.

DeLorenzo has 25 years of experience in public affairs, government affairs, and communications in the public and private sectors. She most recently served as chief of staff, external affairs at Sanofi in Paris, France. Her prior experience includes government affairs, communications, and public policy roles at AbbVie, Pfizer Inc, Schering-Plough Corp. (now Merck), and at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). DeLorenzo served in the administration of President George W. Bush at the White House Coalition Information Center and at the U.S. Department of State. Prior to this, she held roles in government and on political campaigns. (PF exclusive)