White House Press Secretary

Presidents have long had aides who dealt with the press, but the first person formally designated as press secretary served President Herbert Hoover beginning in 1929. Under President Franklin Roosevelt, the press secretary held regular briefings and arranged hundreds of presidential press conferences, and President Dwight Eisenhower's press secretary pioneered filmed and televised presidential news conferences in 1955. The press secretary is a member of the White House staff appointed by the President, not confirmed by the Senate.

The press secretary holds briefings, usually on weekdays, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the West Wing, named in 2000 for the press secretary wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. The office prepares the President for interviews and news conferences, issues statements, arranges the small press pool that travels with the President, and decides which reporters get credentials and access. Daily briefings have been televised live since the 1990s, making the press secretary one of the most recognizable faces of an administration.

The job requires balancing loyalty to the President with credibility among reporters, and several press secretaries have resigned or lost trust when their statements proved false. Disputes over access are recurring: in February 2025 the White House took over from the White House Correspondents' Association the selection of reporters in the press pool, and it barred one wire service from some events over its style guidance on a renamed body of water, prompting litigation. Supporters said the changes opened access to newer outlets, while press groups said they let the government choose who covers the President.