By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-16 00:36:42 | Updated at 2024-11-16 02:52:39
2 hours ago
Donald Trump's former Press Secretary Sean Spicer is on a shortlist to become U.S. Navy secretary, DailyMail.com has learned.
Spicer, 53, who now hosts his own online politics show, was the public face of Trump's first White House for six months in 2017.
But he was also a Navy reservist, rising to the rank of commander.
As a result, his name has been floated as a potential secretary of the Navy as Trump goes about building an administration of loyalists and faces familiar from his first term in office.
And Spicer visited Mar-a-Lago this week, according to a source familiar with the vetting process.
Other names are in the mix. But the idea has the backing of Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon, who was interviewed by Spicer for his online show Friday.
In a lighthearted segment, Bannon (who also served in the U.S. Navy) said he was ready to lobby on his old friend's behalf
'Do you want to be Secretary of the Navy?' he asked. 'Sean, should I start working that one?'
Sean Spicer's name is among those being considered for Trump's Navy secretary
Steve Bannon joked with Spicer about lobbying Trump on his behalf
Spicer plays it cool. 'Anyway, so let's get on,' he says quickly, sounding embarrassed.
Bannon then seems to suggest that former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, a Navy reserve ensign, was jockeying for the role.
But Bannon said Spicer had his backing.
'I must say this on air, I absolutely 1,000 percent support you being secretary of the Navy, and I will get working on that right now,' he says.
Spicer sounds reluctant to engage with the idea and explains that it might cause him some problems at home.
'My wife is going to appreciate that,' he says. 'I thank you for that.'
Spicer's time at the White House was part of Trump's most turbulent time in office, as key figures waged war with one another and the media.
Spicer on the White House briefing room podium in June 2017
Spicer is seen with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in 2017
Spicer appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2019
He quickly became a household name when he blasted the press a day after Trump was sworn in, and the president was frustrated by comparisons that showed his inauguration crowd to be smaller than President Barack Obama's.
Spicer insisted it was 'the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.'
That set a pattern for a press secretary in an awkward position trying to defend some of Trump's most outlandish boasts.
He left as part of a wider shakeup of strategy that heralded the famously short tenure of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director.
He capitalized on his notoriety by appearing in season 28 of 'Dancing with the Stars' but was eliminated after performing a foxtrot and a tango in episode nine,
