Potomac Flacks

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)

Trump White House aide Dorr Joins Sinclair Broadcasting

Kaelan Dorr, Director of Congressional Communications at the White House, has departed to become Executive Political Producer for “Bottom Line with Boris Epshteyn” on Sinclair Broadcasting.

Dorr is a veteran of the Republican ad firm Jamestown Associates, as well as a former field organizer for the Republican Party of Iowa and a staffer for the Bob Johnson for Congress campaign.

He is a 2014 graduate of Elon University. (PF tipster)

Top DHS Spokesman Lapan Leaving Trump Administration for BPC

CNN reports that David Lapan, the Press Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is departing at the end of October to become Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Regarding the timing, CNN reported: 

While the move comes on the heels of the announcement of a new nominee to be DHS secretary, top Kelly staffer Kirstjen Nielsen, Lapan said the move is unrelated, has been in the works for some time and is a personal decision.

CNN's report continued:

Lapan came to DHS at the request of Kelly, with whom Lapan had worked for more than a decade in the Marine Corps. The longtime Marine had also worked in the Pentagon press shop but had left government service and retired from the Marines to work in the nonprofit world when Kelly asked him to serve once again and join the administration. (CNN)

FORMER OBAMA, BIDEN AIDE BEDINGFIELD TO WORK FOR LEONSIS

Kate Bedingfield, former deputy assistant to President Barack Obama and communications director for Vice President Joe Biden, is joining Monumental Sports & Entertainment as its vice president of communications. Monumental Sports owns the Wizards, Capitals, Mystics and Verizon Center. Bedingfield will report to founder Ted Leonsis. (Politico “Playbook”)

RNC's Spicer Named White House Press Secretary

The most coveted job in communications, White House Press Secretary, has been earned by well-known and well-liked flack Sean Spicer (@seanspicer), who has served as RNC chief strategist and communications director over the past two presidential cycles.

The announcement was made Thursday by the Trump-Pence transition team in a brief news release.

In addition to Spicer, the following senior White House communications roles were announced:

Jason Miller, Director of Communications

Hope Hicks, Director of Strategic Communications

Dan Scavino, Director of Social Media

All four individuals will share “Assistant to the President” titles.

“Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition. I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again,” President-elect Donald Trump said in the release.

Spicer’s road to White House Press Secretary includes several grueling years at the RNC, but his career did not begin there.

Spicer served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Media from 2006-2009.

Before that he worked on Capitol Hill, as Communications Director for the House Republican Conference from 2005-2006, as Communications Director for the House Budget Committee from 2002-2005, and as Director of Incumbent Retention for the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC).

He holds a Master’s in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and a Bachelor’s in Government from Connecticut College.

In 1999, Spicer joined the Navy Reserves, where he holds the rank of Commander.

He is a native of Barrington, RI. (The Hill / PF reporting)

Remainders: Gleischman to GPG; Mason to Albright-Stonebridge; Haulsee to Senate HELP Cmte; Litman to Google

Here are some recent items that we missed:

• Max Gleischman has joined Glover Park Group as Vice President.  He was most recently Director of Communications and Spokesperson for U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power.  Previously, he served as Communications Director for then-Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and for former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI).  (PF tipster)
• Julie Mason, currently the White House Director of Special Projects in the Office of Vice President Biden, has started working as Vice President for Communications at the Albright-Stonebridge Group.  Previously she was Communications Director for Dr. Jill Biden, spokesperson at AOL Time Warner and a communications staffer in the Clinton White House for five years.  (Politico “Playbook)
• Pinehurst, NC native Taylor Haulsee has been named Deputy Press Secretary for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee for Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN).  She previously worked at FP1 Strategies.  (PF tipster)
• Riva Litman has joined Google’s global communications and public affairs team in DC.  She was previously Communications Director for House GOP Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).  (Politico “Influence”)

Durbin Flack Gleischman Moving to U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Office

Politico’s Mike Allen reports that Max Gleischman is the new Communications Director and spokesperson for U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power.  Gleischman had been serving as Communications Director for Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Allen replaced Nayyera Hag, who was serving as acting director following the departure of Erin Pelton.  (Politico)

White House Deputy Press Secretary Smith Leaving White House for Private Sector

Politico’s Mike Allen reports that Jamie Smith, a deputy press secretary in the White House, will “leave the West Wing on Feb. 7 after four years in the Obama administration.”

Allen reports that Smith will remain in Washington and join the private sector.

Smith worked on the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign in 2008, only Capitol Hill and for the Director of National Intelligence.

Per Allen:

    Smith, a special assistant to the president, came to the White House in June, 2011, from the Office of the DNI, where she was director of public affairs during the Arab Spring and the Osama bin Laden raid. Before that, she was communications director for Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) when he was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and later when he chaired the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

    Smith also served as traveling press director of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.  On New Year’s Eve, 2007, she took two days off the campaign trail to marry Eric Pierce, now principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for legislative affairs. Then the two drove from Chicago back to Iowa to meet up with the campaign. The real honeymoon came a year later.

    Smith has also been communications director for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the Albright Group; legislative aide to Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.); and operations manager for issue advocacy at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She’s a native of Buffalo Grove, Ill., and graduated from Kenyon College.  (Politico’s Mike Allen)

Rear Adm. Kirby Named new Pentagon Press Secretary

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that Rear Adm. (lower half) John Kirby will serve as Pentagon press secretary and his principal spokesman.

According to a release, Rear Adm. (lower half) Kirby, who currently serves as the U.S. Navy's chief of information, has long been a trusted voice for the U.S. Department of Defense and is one of its leading public affairs officers.  He previously served as one of DoD's top spokesmen under Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and as chief spokesman and public affairs advisor to Adm. Mike Mullen throughout his tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Rear Adm. Kirby grew up in St. Petersburg, FL. He is a 1985 graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in History. He holds a Master of Science degree in International Relations from Troy State University and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.  (PF tipster)