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White House Press Secretary (view source)

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During the United States' early years, there was not a single designated staff person or office responsible for managing the relationship between the president and the growing number of journalists and media entities that were covering him.<ref name="Nelson">{{cite book|title=Who Speaks for the President?: The White House Press Secretary from Cleveland to Clinton|last= Nelson|first=W. Dale|publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]|year=1998 |url=https://archive.org/details/whospeaksforpres02nels/ |isbn=0-8156-0514-5}}</ref>{{rp|3}} It was not until after President [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s administration that Congress formally appropriated funds for a White House staff, which at first consisted merely of a secretary. [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s White House staff officially numbered six people at a cost of $13,800, though he supplemented with personnel from the War Department. Fifty years later under the [[Calvin Coolidge|Coolidge]] administration, the staff had increased to just fewer than fifty people at a cost of nearly $100,000.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|3}}
During the United States' early years, there was not a single designated staff person or office responsible for managing the relationship between the president and the growing number of journalists and media entities that were covering him.<ref name="Nelson">{{cite book|title=Who Speaks for the President?: The White House Press Secretary from Cleveland to Clinton|last= Nelson|first=W. Dale|publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]|year=1998 |url=https://archive.org/details/whospeaksforpres02nels/ |isbn=0-8156-0514-5}}</ref>{{rp|3}} It was not until after President [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s administration that Congress formally appropriated funds for a White House staff, which at first consisted merely of a secretary. [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s White House staff officially numbered six people at a cost of $13,800, though he supplemented with personnel from the War Department. Fifty years later under the [[Calvin Coolidge|Coolidge]] administration, the staff had increased to just fewer than fifty people at a cost of nearly $100,000.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|3}}


As presidents increasingly hired more staff, some showed a tendency to pick aides and confidantes who had backgrounds in the field of journalism.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|3}} One of Abraham Lincoln's private secretaries, [[John G. Nicolay]], had been an editor and owner of a newspaper in Illinois before he worked for the president in the White House.<ref name="Nelson"/>{{rp|4}} While the modern equivalent of a private or personal secretary to the president of the United States would be more narrowly concerned with the care and feeding of the president,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/politics/30letter.html|title=From Jenna's Ex to a Presidential Jeeves |work=[[The New York Times]]|last=Bumiller|first=Elizabeth|date=May 30, 2005|access-date=April 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112014449/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/politics/30letter.html?_r=1|archive-date=November 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> the small size of the White House staff at that point meant that Nicolay interacted with the press occasionally in carrying out his duties.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|4}} He was occasionally asked to verify stories or information that various members of the press had heard.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|4}} Though the title and establishment of the roles and responsibilities of the press secretary job was still decades in the future, the small and growing White House staff was increasingly interacting with a growing number of professional journalists and mass media entities covering the president and the White House.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|4}} [[Andrew Johnson]] was the first president to grant a formal interview request to a reporter, sitting down with Col. Alexander K. McClure from Pennsylvania.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|7}} Although various presidents and reporters had participated in conversations or dialogues prior to Johnson, the exchanges had been less formal.<ref name=Nelson/>{{rp|6}}
As presidents increasingly hired more staff, some showed a tendency to pick aides and confidantes who had backgrounds in the field of journalism.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|3}} One of Abraham Lincoln's private secretaries, [[John G. Nicolay]], had been an editor and owner of a newspaper in Illinois before he worked for the president in the White House.<ref name="Nelson"/>{{rp|4}} While the modern equivalent of a private or personal secretary to the president of the United States would be more narrowly concerned with the care and feeding of the president,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/politics/30letter.html|title=From Jenna's Ex to a Presidential Jeeves |work=The New York Times|last=Bumiller|first=Elizabeth|date=May 30, 2005|access-date=April 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112014449/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/politics/30letter.html?_r=1|archive-date=November 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> the small size of the White House staff at that point meant that Nicolay interacted with the press occasionally in carrying out his duties.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|4}} He was occasionally asked to verify stories or information that various members of the press had heard.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|4}} Though the title and establishment of the roles and responsibilities of the press secretary job was still decades in the future, the small and growing White House staff was increasingly interacting with a growing number of professional journalists and mass media entities covering the president and the White House.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|4}} [[Andrew Johnson]] was the first president to grant a formal interview request to a reporter, sitting down with Col. Alexander K. McClure from Pennsylvania.<ref name="Nelson" />{{rp|7}} Although various presidents and reporters had participated in conversations or dialogues prior to Johnson, the exchanges had been less formal.<ref name=Nelson/>{{rp|6}}


=== Cleveland and McKinley administrations ===
=== Cleveland and McKinley administrations ===
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* Roosevelt administration – [[Stephen Early]], a reporter for [[United Press International]] and correspondent for the [[Associated Press]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=FDR and the Press|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1979|last=White|first=Graham J.|page=[https://archive.org/details/amj00grah/page/14 14]|url=https://archive.org/details/amj00grah |url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-226-89512-3}}</ref>
* Roosevelt administration – [[Stephen Early]], a reporter for [[United Press International]] and correspondent for the [[Associated Press]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=FDR and the Press|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1979|last=White|first=Graham J.|page=[https://archive.org/details/amj00grah/page/14 14]|url=https://archive.org/details/amj00grah |url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-226-89512-3}}</ref>
* Truman administration – [[Jonathan W. Daniels]], a newspaper editor who was in the Franklin Roosevelt administration in multiple agencies and on various boards just prior to becoming press secretary;<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=acjyveHhcJUC&pg=PA117|last=Neal|first=Steve|title=HST: Memories of the Truman Years|year=2003|page=117|publisher=SIU Press |isbn=9780809325580|access-date=February 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630162702/https://books.google.com/books?id=acjyveHhcJUC&pg=PA117|archive-date=June 30, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Charlie Ross (journalist)|Charlie Ross]], a journalist who received the [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 1932;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/ross.htm|title=Charlie G. Ross Papers|publisher=[[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum]]|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607000746/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/ross.htm|archive-date=June 7, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Early; [[Joseph Short]], a newspaper editor;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/short.htm|title=Joseph H. Short and Beth Campbell Papers|publisher=[[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum]]|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051123115754/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/short.htm|archive-date=November 23, 2005|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Roger Tubby]], a reporter and editor turned [[Democratic National Committee]] spokesman before becoming White House press secretary<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/tubby.htm|title=Roger Tubby Oral History Interview|publisher=[[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum]]|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606210508/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/tubby.htm|archive-date=June 6, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Truman administration – [[Jonathan W. Daniels]], a newspaper editor who was in the Franklin Roosevelt administration in multiple agencies and on various boards just prior to becoming press secretary;<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=acjyveHhcJUC&pg=PA117|last=Neal|first=Steve|title=HST: Memories of the Truman Years|year=2003|page=117|publisher=SIU Press |isbn=9780809325580|access-date=February 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630162702/https://books.google.com/books?id=acjyveHhcJUC&pg=PA117|archive-date=June 30, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Charlie Ross (journalist)|Charlie Ross]], a journalist who received the [[Pulitzer Prize]] in 1932;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/ross.htm|title=Charlie G. Ross Papers|publisher=[[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum]]|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607000746/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/ross.htm|archive-date=June 7, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Early; [[Joseph Short]], a newspaper editor;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/short.htm|title=Joseph H. Short and Beth Campbell Papers|publisher=[[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum]]|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051123115754/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/short.htm|archive-date=November 23, 2005|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Roger Tubby]], a reporter and editor turned [[Democratic National Committee]] spokesman before becoming White House press secretary<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/tubby.htm|title=Roger Tubby Oral History Interview|publisher=[[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum]]|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606210508/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/tubby.htm|archive-date=June 6, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Eisenhower administration – [[James Hagerty]], a reporter for ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/PDFs/Hagerty_James_Papers.pdf|title=James C. Hagerty Papers|publisher=[[Eisenhower Presidential Center]]|page=5|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032753/http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/PDFs/Hagerty_James_Papers.pdf|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Eisenhower administration – [[James Hagerty]], a reporter for ''The New York Times''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/PDFs/Hagerty_James_Papers.pdf|title=James C. Hagerty Papers|publisher=[[Eisenhower Presidential Center]]|page=5|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032753/http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/PDFs/Hagerty_James_Papers.pdf|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Kennedy administration – [[Pierre Salinger]], a reporter and editor for the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''<ref>{{CongBio|S000016|name=Pierre Salinger|inline=yes}}</ref>
* Kennedy administration – [[Pierre Salinger]], a reporter and editor for the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''<ref>{{CongBio|S000016|name=Pierre Salinger|inline=yes}}</ref>
* Johnson administration – appointed [[George Christian (journalist)|George Christian]], a reporter for [[International News Service]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/78R/billtext/html/HR00557F.htm|title=HR 557 (2003)|publisher=[[Texas House of Representatives]]|date=April 8, 2003|access-date=May 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526035329/http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/78R/billtext/html/HR00557F.htm|archive-date=May 26, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[PBS]] commentator [[Bill Moyers]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/moyesrbill/moyersbill.htm|title=Moyers, Bill|publisher=[[Museum of Broadcast Communications]]|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085456/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/moyesrbill/moyersbill.htm|archive-date=May 17, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Johnson administration – appointed [[George Christian (journalist)|George Christian]], a reporter for [[International News Service]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/78R/billtext/html/HR00557F.htm|title=HR 557 (2003)|publisher=[[Texas House of Representatives]]|date=April 8, 2003|access-date=May 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526035329/http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/78R/billtext/html/HR00557F.htm|archive-date=May 26, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[PBS]] commentator [[Bill Moyers]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/moyesrbill/moyersbill.htm|title=Moyers, Bill|publisher=[[Museum of Broadcast Communications]]|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517085456/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/moyesrbill/moyersbill.htm|archive-date=May 17, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Ford administration – appointed [[Jerald terHorst]], a newspaper veteran;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/us/02terhorst.html|title=J.F. terHorst, Ford Press Secretary, Dies at 87|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 2, 2010|page=A16|first=Bruce|last=Weber|access-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123084056/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/us/02terhorst.html|archive-date=January 23, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Ron Nessen]], an [[NBC News]] correspondent<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/Finding%20Aids/Nessen,%20Ron%20-%20Files.htm |title=Ron Nessen Files |publisher=[[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library]] |access-date=May 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514064419/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/Finding%20Aids/Nessen,%20Ron%20-%20Files.htm |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Ford administration – appointed [[Jerald terHorst]], a newspaper veteran;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/us/02terhorst.html|title=J.F. terHorst, Ford Press Secretary, Dies at 87|work=The New York Times|date=April 2, 2010|page=A16|first=Bruce|last=Weber|access-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123084056/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/us/02terhorst.html|archive-date=January 23, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Ron Nessen]], an [[NBC News]] correspondent<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/Finding%20Aids/Nessen,%20Ron%20-%20Files.htm |title=Ron Nessen Files |publisher=[[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library]] |access-date=May 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514064419/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/Finding%20Aids/Nessen,%20Ron%20-%20Files.htm |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Reagan administration – [[Larry Speakes]], a newspaper editor;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/013087a.htm|title=Announcement of the Presentation of the Presidential Citizens Medal to Larry M. Speakes|publisher=[[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]]|date=January 30, 1987|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604013326/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/013087a.htm|archive-date=June 4, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Marlin Fitzwater]], a newspaper editor<ref name="Fitzwater">{{cite web |url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/011287b.htm |title=Appointment of Marlin Fitzwater as Assistant to the President for Press Relations |publisher=[[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]] |date=January 12, 1987 |access-date=May 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524111844/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/011287b.htm |archive-date=May 24, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Reagan administration – [[Larry Speakes]], a newspaper editor;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/013087a.htm|title=Announcement of the Presentation of the Presidential Citizens Medal to Larry M. Speakes|publisher=[[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]]|date=January 30, 1987|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604013326/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/013087a.htm|archive-date=June 4, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Marlin Fitzwater]], a newspaper editor<ref name="Fitzwater">{{cite web |url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/011287b.htm |title=Appointment of Marlin Fitzwater as Assistant to the President for Press Relations |publisher=[[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]] |date=January 12, 1987 |access-date=May 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524111844/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/011287b.htm |archive-date=May 24, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* George H. W. Bush administration – Marlin Fitzwater<ref name="Fitzwater" />
* George H. W. Bush administration – Marlin Fitzwater<ref name="Fitzwater" />
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|{{sortname|Sean|Spicer}}
|{{sortname|Sean|Spicer}}
|{{dts|January 20, 2017}}
|{{dts|January 20, 2017}}
|{{dts|July 21, 2017}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thrush |first1=Glenn |author-link1=Glenn Thrush |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie|author-link2=Maggie Haberman|title=Sean Spicer Resigns as White House Press Secretary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/us/politics/sean-spicer-resigns-as-white-house-press-secretary.html?mcubz=1 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 21, 2017 |access-date=July 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721160252/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/us/politics/sean-spicer-resigns-as-white-house-press-secretary.html?mcubz=1 |archive-date=July 21, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|{{dts|July 21, 2017}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thrush |first1=Glenn |author-link1=Glenn Thrush |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie|author-link2=Maggie Haberman|title=Sean Spicer Resigns as White House Press Secretary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/us/politics/sean-spicer-resigns-as-white-house-press-secretary.html?mcubz=1 |work=The New York Times |date=July 21, 2017 |access-date=July 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721160252/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/us/politics/sean-spicer-resigns-as-white-house-press-secretary.html?mcubz=1 |archive-date=July 21, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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|{{ayd|2017|1|20|2017|7|21}}
|rowspan=4 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
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