White House official: Don't believe the rumors Sean Spicer is close to being fired

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 12 May 2017

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer seems to get blamed for a lot of things, so it comes as no surprise that people think he is on the way out, but an exasperated White House official told BuzzFeed News on Thursday he's staying put.

When asked if Spicer was about to get the axe, the staffer said, "Oh my God, for the billionth time, no." Spicer, last spotted near some bushes in the dark, has been on Naval reserve duty for the last few days, which had been scheduled before President Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday. A person close to Spicer told BuzzFeed News Spicer asked Trump if he should skip his duty in order to handle the Comey crisis, but Trump told him to go as planned.

Trump has apparently been happy with the performance of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who has filled in for Spicer over the last few days, and he is contemplating shuffling the communications department and possibly moving her up from the deputy position, a person with knowledge of his thinking said; one thing in Spicer's favor, though, is the fact that he brings in viewers to press conferences, something reality show veteran Trump loves. While some White House staffers say it's a wait and see game, one told BuzzFeed News Spicer is absolutely safe: "Every time people write this story, they're always wrong, and people writing today are wrong."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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