White House outraged over new CBS News hire
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
White House officials are outraged over CBS' hiring of Jeremy Adler, a communications executive who previously worked for former Rep. Liz Cheney.
- Adler will join CBS News' communications team, according to two people familiar with the move.
Why it matters: Cheney was one of President Trump's biggest foils during his first term, after which she led the House's probe into the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.
What they're saying: "The idea CBS would hire Liz Cheney's flack who has worked to jail President Trump and make it impossible for anybody who supported the president to get hired is insanity. What the hell is Bari Weiss thinking?" a White House official tells Axios.
- CBS did not comment.
Zoom out: The hiring adds to existing tensions between the White House and CBS News.
- The president sued the network for $20 billion in 2024 and settled with it for $16 million last year.
Zoom in: Adler most recently worked for a private communications consultancy called Upland Workshop.
- He served as deputy chief of staff and senior communications adviser for Cheney from 2019 to 2023.
- He previously worked at the Republican super PAC America Rising and was a regional press secretary on now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign.
What to watch: Adler joins CBS News at a trying time. The outlet is navigating changes under its new ownership and Weiss, who was named editor-in-chief of CBS News in October.
- Several high-profile journalists, including Scott MacFarlane and Anderson Cooper, have either opted to leave the network or not renew their contracts.
- The network renewed Gayle King's contract earlier this month.
