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The Ultimate List: Every Trump White House Press Secretary And Where They Are Now (2025 Update)

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The White House Press Secretary is arguably one of the most visible and high-pressure jobs in American politics, a role defined by the delicate balance of informing the press and defending the President's agenda. No administration in modern history has seen more turnover, controversy, or dramatic career shifts for its spokespeople than that of Donald J. Trump, making the list of individuals who have held the post a fascinating study in political communication and personal trajectory.

As of late December 2025, the list of Trump's press secretaries has expanded, with a new, historic name confirmed for the upcoming second term. This comprehensive guide details the four figures from the first term—Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany—and provides an in-depth look at the confirmed appointment for the new administration, highlighting their tenures, most memorable moments, and surprising current professional lives.

The Complete Roster: Trump's White House Press Secretaries (2017–2025)

The role of White House Press Secretary under Donald Trump was characterized by a fundamental shift in the relationship between the administration and the press corps, often prioritizing direct communication from the President over traditional daily briefings. The four individuals who held the position during his first term each brought a unique style and set of controversies to the podium, followed by a range of highly public post-White House careers.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the five individuals who have, or are set to, hold the title of White House Press Secretary under Donald Trump, including the biography and tenure details for the first four.

1. Sean Spicer

  • Full Name: Sean Michael Spicer
  • Born: September 23, 1971 (Age 54, as of 2025)
  • Tenure: January 20, 2017 – July 21, 2017 (183 days)
  • Prior Role: Communications Director for the Republican National Committee (RNC)
  • Key Moment: His very first briefing, where he falsely claimed the crowd size at Trump's inauguration was the largest ever, setting an immediate tone of confrontation with the media.

Sean Spicer’s tenure was brief but explosive, lasting just over six months. He became a national figure overnight, known for his combative style and dramatic press briefings. His time was marked by numerous controversial statements, including a memorable comparison between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Adolf Hitler regarding the use of chemical weapons, for which he later apologized.

Spicer resigned following President Trump's appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as the White House Communications Director, a move Spicer reportedly opposed. His departure signaled the end of the traditional, on-camera daily briefing for a period. Since leaving the White House, Spicer has reinvented himself as a media personality, appearing on *Dancing with the Stars* and hosting his own political commentary show, solidifying his role as a conservative political commentator.

2. Sarah Huckabee Sanders

  • Full Name: Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders
  • Born: August 13, 1982 (Age 43, as of 2025)
  • Tenure: July 26, 2017 – July 1, 2019 (705 days)
  • Prior Role: Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary
  • Key Moment: Her steadfast defense of the President, which included a notorious confrontation with a journalist that resulted in the temporary revocation of his press credentials. She also famously slammed the anonymous op-ed writer critical of the administration as "gutless."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders served the longest of the first-term press secretaries and brought a more measured, yet equally assertive, tone to the podium. Her tenure saw the continued erosion of the daily press briefing tradition, with the events becoming less frequent and more truncated. Her political lineage—she is the daughter of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee—proved to be a major asset for her future career.

Sanders left the White House in mid-2019 and returned to her home state of Arkansas. Her post-White House career has been the most successful politically: she was elected as the 47th Governor of Arkansas in the 2022 election, becoming the state’s first female governor. This transition from White House spokesperson to a powerful executive office is a unique political achievement.

The Era of Infrequent Briefings and High-Profile Exits

The latter half of the first Trump term introduced two press secretaries whose time in the role further redefined the position, moving away from public-facing briefings and toward a more internal communications focus. This strategic shift was a clear indication that the administration preferred to bypass traditional media scrutiny.

3. Stephanie Grisham

  • Full Name: Stephanie Ann Grisham
  • Born: July 23, 1976 (Age 49, as of 2025)
  • Tenure: July 1, 2019 – April 7, 2020 (281 days)
  • Prior Role: Communications Director and Press Secretary for First Lady Melania Trump
  • Key Moment: Her entire tenure, as she holds the distinction of being the only White House Press Secretary in modern history to serve for an extended period without holding a single formal press briefing.

Stephanie Grisham’s nine-month period as Press Secretary and White House Communications Director was historically unusual. By completely eschewing the daily briefing, she effectively neutralized the traditional function of the role as a public-facing gatekeeper. She defended this decision by arguing that President Trump spoke directly to the American people enough to render the briefings redundant.

Grisham eventually returned to the East Wing to serve as Chief of Staff to Melania Trump. Following her time in the administration, she became a prominent critic, publishing a tell-all memoir, *I'll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House*, which provided an insider’s perspective on the administration’s inner workings, and she now works as a political commentator and author.

4. Kayleigh McEnany

  • Full Name: Kayleigh Michelle McEnany
  • Born: April 18, 1988 (Age 37, as of 2025)
  • Tenure: April 7, 2020 – January 20, 2021 (288 days)
  • Prior Role: National Press Secretary for the Trump 2020 campaign and RNC National Spokesperson
  • Key Moment: Her return to the press briefing room, where she promised to "never lie" to the American people, followed by a series of highly charged, combative briefings during the crucial final months of the administration.

Kayleigh McEnany was brought on to revitalize the press briefing process during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election cycle. Her style was characterized by intense preparation, often presenting binders of information to back up her statements, and a fiercely loyal defense of the President and his policies. She was the first press secretary to hold a press briefing after the 2020 election.

Following the end of the first Trump term, McEnany quickly transitioned into a high-profile media career. She is currently a co-host of the popular daytime show *Outnumbered* on the Fox News Channel, where she provides conservative commentary and analysis.

The Future of the Briefing Room: The Confirmed 2025 Pick

The announcement of the new White House Press Secretary for the second term has generated significant media attention due to the individual's age and experience, continuing the Trump administration's pattern of selecting spokespersons who are intensely loyal and media-savvy.

5. Karoline Leavitt (Confirmed for 2025)

  • Full Name: Karoline Claire Leavitt
  • Born: August 24, 1997 (Age 28, as of 2025)
  • Tenure: Set to begin January 20, 2025
  • Prior Role: Spokesperson for the Trump 2024 campaign, former aide to Kayleigh McEnany and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.
  • Key Significance: She is set to be the youngest White House Press Secretary in American history at 27 years old upon her appointment, representing a new generation of Republican communicators.

Karoline Leavitt's confirmation, announced in November 2024, is a major development. Her selection underscores a strategy to prioritize youth, energy, and a deep understanding of the current media landscape, which relies heavily on social media and rapid-response communication outside of the traditional briefing room. Her experience as a campaign spokesperson and her previous work under Kayleigh McEnany suggest a continuation of the combative, no-holds-barred communication style that characterized the previous administration.

Topical Authority: The Evolving Role of the Spokesperson

The list of Trump's press secretaries is more than just a list of names; it reflects a dramatic evolution of the White House's communication strategy. The shift from Sean Spicer’s daily, televised clashes to Stephanie Grisham’s complete absence from the podium, and then to Kayleigh McEnany’s targeted, campaign-style briefings, highlights a clear intention to control the narrative by centralizing communication around the President himself and his team of loyalists.

The appointment of Karoline Leavitt for the second term, a young, aggressive communicator with deep ties to the RNC and the campaign, signals that the administration is doubling down on this approach. The role is less about mediating between the President and the press corps, and more about serving as a highly effective, partisan advocate for the administration's policies and messaging. The careers of the former press secretaries—especially Sarah Huckabee Sanders' rise to Governor—demonstrate that this high-visibility, high-stress role can serve as a powerful launchpad for future political and media success, regardless of the controversies faced during their tenure.

trump press secretary list
trump press secretary list

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