White House Communications Director

The White House communications director or White House director of communications, also known officially as Assistant to the President for Communications, is part of the senior staff of the president of the United States. The officeholder is responsible for developing and promoting the agenda of the president and leading its media campaign.

White House Communications Director
Incumbent Steven Cheung since January 20, 2025
Executive Office of the President White House Office
Reports to	White House Chief of Staff
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	1969 (White House Office) 1974 (White House Office of the Press Secretary)
First holder	Herbert G. Klein

The director, along with their staff, works on major political speeches such as the inaugural address and the State of the Union Address. The communications director, who is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the president, without the need for United States Senate confirmation, is usually given an office in the West Wing of the White House.

History

The White House Office of Communications was established by Herbert G. Klein in January 1969 during the Nixon administration.^[1][2] It was separate from the Office of the Press Secretary from 1969 to 1974.^[3]

Key staff

• Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President and White House Communications Director: Steven Cheung^[4]

• Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President and White House Press Secretary: Karoline Leavitt^[5]

List of directors

Image	Name	Start	End	Duration	President
	Herb Klein[6]	January 20, 1969	July 1, 1973	4 years, 162 days		Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
	Ken Clawson[7]	January 30, 1974	August 9, 1974	191 days
		August 9, 1974	November 4, 1974	87 days		Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
	Jerry Warren[8]	November 4, 1974	August 15, 1975	284 days
	Margita White[9]	August 15, 1975	July 12, 1976	332 days
	David Gergen[10]	July 12, 1976	January 20, 1977	192 days
	Gerald Rafshoon[11]	July 1, 1978	August 14, 1979	1 year, 44 days		Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
	Frank Ursomarso[12][13]	February 23, 1981	June 17, 1981	114 days		Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
	David Gergen[14]	June 17, 1981	January 15, 1984	2 years, 212 days
	Michael McManus[8]	January 15, 1984	February 6, 1985	1 year, 22 days
	Pat Buchanan[15]	February 6, 1985	March 1, 1987	2 years, 23 days
	Jack Koehler[16]	March 1, 1987	March 13, 1987	11 days
	Tom Griscom[17]	April 2, 1987	July 1, 1988	1 year, 90 days
	Mari Maseng Will[18]	July 1, 1988	January 20, 1989	203 days
	David Demarest[19]	January 20, 1989	August 23, 1992	3 years, 216 days		George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
	Margaret Tutwiler[20]	August 23, 1992	January 20, 1993	150 days
	George Stephanopoulos[21]	January 20, 1993	June 7, 1993	138 days		Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
	Mark Gearan[22]	June 7, 1993	August 14, 1995	2 years, 68 days
	Don Baer[23]	August 14, 1995	July 31, 1997	1 year, 351 days
	Ann Lewis[24]	July 31, 1997	March 10, 1999	1 year, 222 days
	Loretta Ucelli[25]	March 10, 1999	January 20, 2001	1 year, 316 days
	Karen Hughes[26]	January 20, 2001	October 2, 2001	255 days		George W. Bush (2001–2009)
	Dan Bartlett[27]	October 2, 2001	January 5, 2005	3 years, 95 days
	Nicolle Wallace[28]	January 5, 2005	July 24, 2006	1 year, 200 days
	Kevin Sullivan[29]	July 24, 2006	January 20, 2009	2 years, 180 days
	Ellen Moran[30]	January 20, 2009	April 21, 2009	91 days		Barack Obama (2009–2017)
	Anita Dunn[31]	April 21, 2009	November 30, 2009	223 days
	Dan Pfeiffer[32]	November 30, 2009	January 25, 2013	3 years, 56 days
	Jen Palmieri[33]	January 25, 2013	April 1, 2015	2 years, 66 days
	Jen Psaki[34]	April 1, 2015	January 20, 2017	1 year, 294 days
	Sean Spicer[35]	January 20, 2017	March 6, 2017	45 days		Donald Trump (2017–2021)
	Michael Dubke[36][37]	March 6, 2017	June 2, 2017	88 days
	Sean Spicer [37][38]	June 2, 2017[39][40]	July 21, 2017[41]	49 days
	Anthony Scaramucci[42]	July 21, 2017[43]	July 31, 2017[44][45]	11 days
	Hope Hicks[46][47]	August 16, 2017 Acting: August 16 – September 12, 2017	March 29, 2018[48]	225 days
	Bill Shine[49]	July 5, 2018	March 8, 2019	246 days
	Stephanie Grisham[50]	July 1, 2019	April 7, 2020	281 days
	Kate Bedingfield[51][52]	January 20, 2021	March 1, 2023	2 years, 40 days		Joe Biden (2021–2025)
	Ben LaBolt[14]	March 1, 2023	January 20, 2025	1 year, 325 days
	Steven Cheung[53]	January 20, 2025	Incumbent	106 days		Donald Trump (2025–present)