‘Disgrace to Our Country’: Trump Threatens Ilhan Omar With Jail, Deportation

Her responsibilities extended well beyond the daily interactions that Americans saw on television. White House press secretaries routinely participate in internal communications discussions, prepare responses to developing news stories, and coordinate with officials responsible for national security, economic policy, immigration, and other major federal issues.

The position also requires responding to rapidly changing developments, sometimes before all relevant information has become publicly available. For Leavitt, that meant balancing the responsibility of communicating official administration positions with the political demands of representing a president whose statements and decisions regularly generated intense national debate.