Spokesperson for the United States Department of State

Last updated

Spokesperson for the
United States Department of State
U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Tammy Bruce (16642490386) (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Tammy Bruce
since January 20, 2025
AppointerThe Secretary of State
Website Official website

The Spokesperson for the United States Department of State is a U.S. government official whose primary responsibility is to serve as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and the U.S. government's foreign policies. The position is located in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs. [1]

Contents

Historically, the State Department Spokesperson and the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs were synonymous names for the same role. However, this has not been the case since Philip J. Crowley's tenure ended in 2011. [2] Since 2011, the Assistant Secretary and the State Department Spokesperson have been two separate roles held by different people. [3] In late 2015, the two roles were once again merged with the appointment of Spokesperson John Kirby as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. [4]

Responsibilities

The State Department spokesperson is responsible for communicating the foreign policy of the United States to American and foreign media, typically in a daily press briefing. The daily press briefing typically includes a summary of the secretary of state's schedule, any upcoming trips by the secretary, the president of the United States, or other distinguished State Department officials including under secretaries and assistant secretaries, and official reactions and positions of the U.S. government on certain news of the day, followed by Q&A with journalists attending the briefing. A tradition that began during the tenure of John Foster Dulles as secretary of state in the 1950s, [5] the daily press briefing is on-the-record, and is recorded and made available on the State Department's website.

The State Department spokesperson will also often accompany the secretary of state on travel to assist with press conferences.

List of State Department spokespeople

#SpokespersonTenure President Secretary of State
1 Michael J. McDermott [6] 1927–1945 Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman
Frank B. Kellogg, Henry L. Stimson,
Cordell Hull, Edward Stettinius, Jr.
2 Roger Tubby (Profile) on March 15, 1951 at President Truman's at his vacation residence in Key West, Florida - NARA - 200561 (cropped).tif Roger Tubby [7] 1945–1948 Harry S. Truman James F. Byrnes, George C. Marshall
3Lincoln White [8] 1955–1963 Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy John Foster Dulles, Christian Herter,
Dean Rusk
4 Robert James McCloskey (1978) (cropped).jpg Robert J. McCloskey [9] 1964–1973 Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon Dean Rusk, William P. Rogers
5Carl E. Bartch [10] 1966–1970
6 Robert Anderson [11] 1974–1976 Gerald Ford Henry Kissinger
7 Hodding Carter (cropped).jpg Hodding Carter III [12] 1977–1980 Jimmy Carter Cyrus Vance
8 William Jennings Dyess (cropped).jpg William J. Dyess [13] 1980–1981 Edmund Muskie
9 Dean E. Fischer (cropped).jpg Dean E. Fischer [14] 1981–1982 Ronald Reagan Alexander Haig
10 John Hughes editor 1985.jpg Robert John Hughes [15] 1982–1985 George P. Shultz
11 Bernard Kalb (cropped).jpg Bernard Kalb [16] 1985–1986
12 Charles E. Redman 1985 (cropped).jpg Charles Edgar Redman [17] 1986–1989
13 Tutwilermd 175.jpg Margaret D. Tutwiler [18] 1989–1992 George H. W. Bush James Baker
14 Richard Boucher.jpg Richard Boucher [19] 1992–1993 Lawrence Eagleburger
15 Mike McCurry.jpg Mike McCurry [20] 1993–1995 Bill Clinton Warren Christopher
16 Assignment- 59-CF-DS-24774-05) Official portrait of R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs (Photographer- Ann Thomas--State) (59-CF-DS-24774-05 Burns Nick fromPSD. - DPLA - f4243003ba9e37e05b4cd2e0e77a3e8d.jpg R. Nicholas Burns [21] 1995–1997
17 James Rubin (cropped).jpg James Rubin [22] 1997–2000 Madeleine Albright
18 Richard Boucher.jpg Richard Boucher [19] 2001–2005 George W. Bush Colin Powell
19 Sean McCormack official portrait.jpg Sean McCormack [23] 2005–2009 Condoleezza Rice
20 Ian Kelly official portrait.jpg Ian C. Kelly 2009–2010 Barack Obama Hillary Clinton
21 Philip J Crowley.jpg Philip J. Crowley 2010–2011
22 Victoria Nuland from VOA.jpg Victoria Nuland 2011–2013
23 Official photo of Jen Psaki.jpg Jen Psaki 2013–2015 John Kerry
24 Official Harf Photograph.jpg Marie Harf 2015
25 John Kirby 2015.jpg John Kirby 2015–2017
26 Toner Mark 200 1.jpg Mark Toner 2017 Donald Trump Rex Tillerson
27 Heather Nauert official photo.jpg Heather Nauert [24] 2017–2019Rex Tillerson, Mike Pompeo
28 Morgan D. Ortagus.jpg Morgan Ortagus 2019–2021Mike Pompeo
29 Ned Price official photo.jpg Ned Price 2021–2023 Joe Biden Antony Blinken
30 Matthew Miller, DOS Spokesperson.jpg Matthew Miller 2023–2025
31 Tammy Bruce (16642490386) (cropped).jpg Tammy Bruce 2025–presentDonald Trump Marco Rubio

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