Press Secretary Sean Spicer is taking a step back from his very public role at the podium to help manage the message coming out of the White House from the communications team. From POLITICO:
White House press secretary Sean Spicer is leading a search for his own replacement at the briefing room podium as part of a larger plan to shake up the White House communications operations, according to two people with knowledge of the effort.
Last week, Spicer and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus reached out to Fox News personality Laura Ingraham about the role of press secretary and Daily Mail editor David Martosko about the role of communications director, according to a White House official.
Deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who has frequently filled in for Spicer, has told people that she doesn’t want the job of press secretary, according to a source close to her.
“We have sought input from many people as we look to expand our communications operation,” Sanders said. “As he did in the beginning, Sean Spicer is managing both the communications and press office.”
When President Trump was inaugurated in January, Spicer was running the communications team and serving as press secretary. In February Mike Dubke was hired as the Communications Director, but resigned in May, prompting Spicer to again take on the communications workload in addition to his press secretary duties. Dubke helped plan President Trump's first foreign trip.
Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will brief reporters from now on as the White House looks for a replacement. Whether Spicer will stay at the White House in a different role is still unclear.