White House press secretary Sarah Sanders’s sudden departure as President Trump’s lead spokeswoman begins what is likely to be intense jockeying to replace her — and there’s no clear front-runner.
The fallout from Trump’s Thursday announcement on Twitter will play out in West Wing jousting between in-house candidates and the president’s media-savvy outside supporters. Sanders held her job for almost two years. She took over in July 2017 after serving as a deputy to Sean Spicer for the first six months of Trump’s administration.
One Trump World source, speaking on condition of anonymity, described deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley as the “likely pick” to replace Sanders. But Trump might also look to Tony Sayegh, a Treasury Department spokesman who this Republican operative said might be the “best pick.” Other options the president might consider include Morgan Ortagus, a spokeswoman at the State Department, and Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump, the source said.
Republicans in Washington who have worked with Sayegh say he has a sound grasp of policy and understands politics and campaigns. They also lauded his television skills, a key metric by which Trump measures his senior aides. Sayegh is on his way out of the Treasury Department and is being feted at a goodbye party Thursday that will be attended by dozens of D.C. insiders.
Many other press secretary candidates already are being eyed by the Inside-the-Beltway crowd.
The Driveway Crew
Hogan Gidley: A frequent TV surrogate for Trump, Gidley has been Sanders’s top lieutenant for most of her tenure. But his institutional advantage and experience working with White House reporters is complicated by Trump’s reported distance from him. “Get me Tidley,” Trump reportedly said after watching Gidley on TV during the government shutdown that ended this year. “Tidley, I want to talk to Hogan Tidley.”
Kellyanne Conway: Conway is a pervasive presence on the White House driveway between her appearances on cable TV, briefing reporters with greater regularity and vigor than Gidley. The key Trump confidante and 2016 campaign manager, however, does not need a title to serve in this role, and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel’s recommendation Thursday that she be fired for violating the Hatch Act makes her a problematic choice.
Mercedes Schlapp: The White House director of strategic communications occasionally briefs reporters and is near the pinnacle of communications department power. She is married to Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which stages the annual CPAC event. But Schlapp may have trouble with institutional memories of a brutal fight against Sayegh to be White House communications director in 2018. Neither got the job.
Polished Pundits
Ainsley Earhardt: The 42-year-old Fox News personality co-hosts Trump’s favorite early morning show “Fox & Friends,” which provides fodder for his Twitter feed. The journalist, who has praised Trump on-air, however, may not relish relocating to swampy Washington from the show’s Manhattan studio.
Katie Pavlich: Though just 30 years old, the conservative journalist is a veteran of cable news and writing for outlets that cover Washington politics. Pavlich, however, has a history of offering her own views on issues, rather than serving as a spokesperson.
Kayleigh McEnany: Now 31, McEnany rocketed to national fame in 2016 when she was one of the few regular pro-Trump voices on television. She currently works in northern Virginia as a key spokeswoman for Trump’s 2020 campaign.
The Curveball
Kimberly Guilfoyle: The former co-host of “The Five” on Fox News, Guilfoyle would bring a TV-tested presence to the White House, but her romantic relationship with Donald Trump Jr. could complicate her position. Guilfoyle is a former prosecutor and the ex-wife of California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, from whom she divorced in 2006.
Laura Ingraham: As an anchor of Fox News’ evening lineup, Ingraham is a principal pro-Trump voice on the airwaves who has reportedly been considered for a White House communications role before. But she has a reputation for being very tough on subordinates and could reintroduce turmoil into a West Wing ravaged early in Trump’s tenure by power struggles fueled by leaks and sniping.
David Martosko: The U.S. political editor of the Daily Mail interviewed in Trump Tower for the position after Trump’s election win, but as a journalist covering the White House has asked tough questions on the South Lawn and in briefings. Though Trump knows him by name, Martosko has staked out an independent posture since discussing the job with the president-elect.
Of course, there is always the chance that Trump would not fill the position, as was the case with the White House communications director post, vacant since the March departure of former Fox News executive Bill Shine.
