Top Pence aide Alyssa Farah to become Pentagon press secretary
A top aide to Vice President Mike Pence will become the Pentagon press secretary next month, a source familiar with the matter confirms. Alyssa Farah, who has served as Pence's press secretary for roughly two years, will be responsible for briefings and other key communications at the Department of Defense.
Jonathan Hoffman will continue at the Pentagon as chief spokesperson. The Washington Post first reported Farah would assume the Pentagon role. Farah, 30, served as the communications director for the House Freedom Caucus before joining Pence's office. Farah tweeted later Wednesday morning confirming the move.
"After 2 unforgettable years at the White House with the @VP, I'm honored to head to @DeptofDefense to serve as Press Secretary on behalf of @EsperDoD & the incredible men & women of our Armed Forces," Farah tweeted. "I look forward to joining the team helmed by @ChiefPentSpox."
Farah's shift to the Pentagon comes at a time when information is often hard to come by for reporters there. The lack of briefings at the Pentagon has been even more pointed than the lack of briefings at the White House, with the Defense Department holding only one on-camera briefing to take reporters' questions from the Pentagon podium in the last year.
Some journalists were irked when KISS frontman Gene Simmons and actor Gerard Butler took to the Pentagon podium in the last year before any Pentagon official had.
Farah's impending arrival at the Pentagon also comes as the U.S. faces international tensions on a number of fronts, from North Korea to Iran.
It is not yet clear who will replace Farah as Pence's press secretary.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
