Sean Spicer is reaching out to prospective candidates to take over his position as part a plan to shake up the White House communications operation, Politico reports.
The White House press secretary and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus have reportedly reached out to Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham about possibly taking over Spicer’s responsibilities. Daily Mail U.S. political editor David Martosko has been in talks to take over the role of communications director.
Politico cites an unnamed White House official who claims that Spicer and Priebus have already had preliminary discussions with Ingraham, while Martosko has met with chief strategist Steve Bannon last week.
A rep for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Ingraham, who declined to comment to Politico. Martosko told Politico: “I can’t hear you,” and then hung up.
Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, who has been considered for gig in the past, is not interested in the position and has not been interviewed, according to Politico.And people in deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ camp claim she’s not interested in the job either.
The White House has been trying to reboot its communications arm since director Michael Dubke resigned last month. But the flurry of reports surrounding the investigations into a possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia last year, as well as the president’s tendency to undercut his staff, have compounded the West Wing’s staffing problems.
There have also been rumors that Spicer’s position is shaky because of the way he was turned into a pop culture joke, notably in by Melissa McCarthy in a series of acclaimed “Saturday Night Live” appearances.
While Spicer is looking for a replacement, he won’t be out of the West Wing. Spicer has been pushing for a new role, according to Politico, that would be senior to both the communications director and press secretary.