President Trump has hired Hogan Gidley, a longtime Republican campaign operative with deep roots in the conservative movement, to serve as a deputy White House press secretary, officials said Tuesday.
Gidley, whose first day on the job will be Wednesday, will serve under White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and alongside principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah and deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters.
Hogan Gidley (left) steps out of a car with former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum at a presidential campaign event in Spartanburg, S.C., on Jan. 18, 2012.
Sanders tweeted Tuesday evening that she was “excited” to welcome Gidley to the West Wing press shop.
Excited @JHoganGidley joining @RajShah45 and @LWalters45 on our incredible WH Press Team!
– Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) October 10, 2017
Gidley’s appointment was first reported by Fox News and later confirmed by Sanders.
This will be a reunion of sorts for Sanders and Gidley, who worked together on campaigns for her father, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. Gidley served as a communications strategist on two presidential campaigns, Huckabee’s in 2016 and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum’s in 2012, logging tens of thousands of miles with both candidates.
Based most recently in South Carolina, Gidley has years of experience in conservative politics, personal relationships with Washington reporters and experience as a political analyst on cable television news.
