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White House Press Secretary

From Ballotpedia

The White House Press Secretary is the primary spokesperson for the White House.^[1] As of March 2023, the White House press secretary is Karine Jean-Pierre.

History

Beginning in 1898, the White House allowed journalists covering the administration into the White House to conduct their writing and interview guests of the president. President Theodore Roosevelt had the West Wing built in 1902 in order to house the growing contingency of journalists. With more journalists present, President Calvin Coolidge first used the term White House spokesman, later to become the White House Press Secretary. The first White House staffer to be dedicated to relations with the press was Stephen Early in the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.^[1]

President Richard Nixon had the press briefing room constructed in 1970, covering the indoor swimming pool, to host the briefings. In 2000, the room was named the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room after White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was paralyzed after an assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan.^[2]

Leadership

As of March 2023, Karine Jean-Pierre was the White House Press Secretary.

Former White House Press Secretaries
Press Secretary	Years in office	Nominated by
Jonathan W. Daniels	1945	Harry Truman
Charlie Ross	1945-1950	Harry Truman
Stephen Early	1950	Harry Truman
Joseph Short	1950-1952	Harry Truman
Roger Tubby	1952-1953	John F. Kennedy
James Hagerty	1953-1961	Dwight Eisenhower
Pierre Salinger	1961-1964	John F. Kennedy
George Reedy	1964-1965	Lyndon B. Johnson
Bill Moyers	1965-1966	Lyndon B. Johnson
George Christian	1966-1969	Lyndon B. Johnson
Ron Ziegler	1969-1974	Richard Nixon
Jerald terHorst	1974	Gerald Ford
Ron Nessen	1974-1977	Gerald Ford
Jody Powell	1977-1981	Jimmy Carter
James Brady*	1981-1989	Ronald Reagan
Larry Speakes	1981-1987	Ronald Reagan
Marlin Fitzwater	1987-1993	Ronald Reagan
Dee Dee Myers	1993-1994	Bill Clinton
Mike McCurry	1994-1998	Bill Clinton
Joe Lockhart	1998-2000	Bill Clinton
Jake Siewert	2000-2001	Bill Clinton
Ari Fleischer	2001-2003	George W. Bush
Scott McClellan	2003-2006	George W. Bush
Tony Snow	2006-2007	George W. Bush
Dana Perino	2007-2009	George W. Bush
Robert Gibbs	2009-2011	Barack Obama
Jay Carney	2011-2014	Barack Obama
Josh Earnest	2014-2017	Barack Obama
Sean Spicer	2017-2017	Donald Trump
Sarah Huckabee Sanders	2017-2019	Donald Trump
Stephanie Grisham	2019-2020	Donald Trump
Kayleigh McEnany	2020-2021	Donald Trump
Jen Psaki	2021-2022	Joe Biden

*James Brady did not brief the press following his paralysis from a 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan.

Analysis

Members of the media to hold office

The following White House Press Secretaries were members of the media prior to being appointed:

Stephen T. Early^[3]
Charles G. Ross^[4]
Joseph H. Short^[5]
Roger Tubby^[6]
James C. Hagerty^[7]
Pierre E.G. Salinger^[8]
George E. Christian, Jr.^[9]
Bill Moyers^[10]
J.F. terHorst^[11]
Ron Nessen^[12]
Larry M. Speakes^[13]
Marlin Fitzwater^[14]
Tony Snow^[15]
Jay Carney^[16]

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term White + House + Press + Briefing

External links

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