Trump Press Secretary to Hold First ‘Podium Briefing’ in a Year

(Bloomberg) -- The White House press secretary will take to the podium on Friday to hold the first formal briefing for reporters in more than a year.

Kayleigh McEnany who had been the spokeswoman for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, took over the job last month. The White House made the announcement late Thursday night.

The press secretary’s formal podium briefing was an integral part of communications strategy across several administrations.

But former Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders discontinued the practice in March of last year, and her successor, Stephanie Grisham, did not resume them.

Trump’s White House had sought to replace the briefings with other events. For instance, the president himself has spoken regularly from the podium during the coronavirus pandemic, and often holds court in the Oval Office or on the South Lawn. Aides regularly speak to reporters outside the press briefing room, or even just offstage, and Sanders occasionally answered questions in the White House driveway.

McEnany, a Harvard Law School graduate and former commentator on CNN, came to the White House after the arrival of Mark Meadows, Trump’s new chief of staff, who has made several personnel changes.

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