The press secretary won’t be in the press secretary’s office in Donald Trump’s new White House.
The media operation will be revamped, and a deputy chief of staff will be moving into the spacious office with a wood-burning fireplace, multiple sources told CBS News.
West Wing office real estate has long been a status symbol in official Washington, where proximity and access to the president can equate to influence. And White House press secretaries have traditionally enjoyed one of the biggest rooms in an otherwise cramped building.
Taylor Budowich, the incoming deputy chief of staff for communications and cabinet affairs, will likely occupy the office typically used by the press secretary, which sits down the hall from the Oval Office and has a view of the North Lawn.
Plans have not yet been finalized, however, and may continue to shift.
Press secretaries in Trump’s first administration — Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham and Kayleigh McEnany — all occupied the office.
Incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt will report to communications director, Steven Cheung. She’ll retain direct access to the president — so-called Oval Office walk-in privileges.
Communications and press operations, typically separate but parallel White House functions, will be merged.
As was the case in Trump’s first administration, however, his staffers have long viewed the president-elect as his own best spokesperson and expect to see him embrace that role again.
