Sean Spicer's tenure as press secretary was very short — but not the shortest ever

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published 21 July 2017

If it's any consolation to former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, his 182-day stint at the lectern may have been short, but it wasn't the shortest ever. Of the 31 press secretaries dating back to former President Herbert Hoover, five press secretaries have had even shorter tenures than Spicer, The Washington Post reported:

Roger Tubby (33 days) and Jake Siewert (111 days) were post-election fill-ins under lame-duck presidents — Harry Truman and Bill Clinton, respectively.Jonathan Daniels (19 days) had just taken over for the iron man of press secretaries, Stephen T. Early (4,403 days), when Franklin Roosevelt died in office. Harry Truman briefly brought back Early on an interim basis before naming his own press secretary, Charles Ross.Jerald terHorst (30 days) was Gerald Ford's pick after Richard Nixon resigned in 1974. When Ford pardoned Nixon for all Watergate-related crimes, terHorst quit in protest.James Brady (69 days) was shot in the head during an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981. He survived but never returned to the post. [The Washington Post]