Hogan Gidley leaves White House for Trump campaign
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Hogan Gidley. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley will leave his post to become the national press secretary for President Trump's re-election campaign, per sources with direct knowledge.
The big picture: Gidley, who has been serving as principal deputy press secretary, will join the campaign’s communications staff which is headed by Tim Murtaugh. He will fill the role previously held by Kayleigh McEnany, who is now White House press secretary.
- The move was first reported by Politico.
The backdrop: A nearly two-decade veteran of conservative politics, Gidley joined the White House in October 2017. Before that, he was a contributor to CBS News, and served in top communications roles for Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.
- In a White House in which the president likes to see his staffers on TV, Gidley grabbed Trump’s attention early on with frequent appearances on "Fox & Friends." He helped himself internally by building a strong relationship with the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
- The New York Times' Mike Leibovich profiled Gidley back in 2018, working under then-press secretary Sarah Sanders, painting a picture of a character with a penchant for Muscle Milk and natty dress.
- But the profile also captured how Gidley‘s adeptness at survival in the administration thanks in part to his willingness to adamantly promote and defend Trump on TV.
What they're saying: "Hogan Gidley will be leaving the White House on July 1 and heading over to my campaign to be the National Press Secretary," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "He is a strong, loyal and trusted member of the team that I know will do an outstanding job! We must WIN this election!"
- Jared Kushner, a Trump adviser and the president's son-in-law, said that Gidley's "two decades of prior campaign experience combined with his deep knowledge of the administration make him an invaluable addition" to the campaign.
