Trump’s new press secretary to hold first formal briefing Friday

President Trump’s new press secretary Kaleigh McEnany will brief reporters for the first time in the White House briefing room on Friday.

The White House issued an updated guidance late Thursday announcing a formal on-camera briefing with the press secretary in the James S. Brady Briefing Room on Friday at 2 p.m., marking the first such occurrence in more than a year.

It is unclear whether the move signals that the White House plans to revive the tradition of the daily briefing with the press secretary, which has been otherwise abandoned under President Trump.

Sean Spicer, the first press secretary under Trump, often sparred with reporters at briefings and became a target on “Saturday Night Live” for his appearances. The briefings slowed thereafter and came to a halt under Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s second press secretary, who was the last to hold a briefing in March 2019.  

Stephanie Grisham, McEnany’s predecessor, never held a formal briefing and defended the decision to end them, describing Trump as his own best spokesman and decrying the briefings as “theater” where reporters attempt to make names for themselves.

McEnany’s decision to take the podium comes less than a month after she took over the position, brought on as part of a broader overhaul of the communications operation executed by new White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

McEnany has already gaggled with the press a handful of times at the White House following television interviews. 

The decision to revive the briefing with the press secretary on Friday also caps a week that saw a decline in the number of White House coronavirus task force briefings that had become a daily occurrence over the past several weeks as the United States grapples with the pandemic.

For the past several days, Trump has opted to forgo the coronavirus briefings in favor of organized events and remarks that have been followed by exchanges with reporters.

The shift from the coronavirus briefings followed a briefing last Thursday during which Trump suggested doctors study disinfectant injections or ultraviolet light as a potential treatment for patients with the novel coronavirus, a remark that was widely mocked and criticized as dangerous. The president has since said he was speaking sarcastically.