# Spokesperson for the United States Department of State

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.
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. Since 2011, the Assistant Secretary and the State Department Spokesperson have been two separate roles held by different people. In late 2015, the two roles were once again merged with the appointment of Spokesperson John Kirby as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.

## 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, 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

| # | Spokesperson | Tenure | President | Secretary of State |
| 1 | Michael J. McDermott | 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 | 1945–1948 | Harry S. Truman | James F. Byrnes, George C. Marshall |
| 3 | Lincoln White | 1955–1963 | Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy | John Foster Dulles, Christian Herter, Dean Rusk |
| 4 | Robert J. McCloskey | 1964–1973 | Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon | Dean Rusk, William P. Rogers |
| 5 | Carl E. Bartch | 1966–1970 | Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon | Dean Rusk, William P. Rogers |
| 6 | Robert Anderson | 1974–1976 | Gerald Ford | Henry Kissinger |
| 7 | Hodding Carter III | 1977–1980 | Jimmy Carter | Cyrus Vance |
| 8 | William J. Dyess | 1980–1981 | Jimmy Carter | Edmund Muskie |
| 9 | Dean E. Fischer | 1981–1982 | Ronald Reagan | Alexander Haig |
| 10 | Robert John Hughes | 1982–1985 | Ronald Reagan | George P. Shultz |
| 11 | Bernard Kalb | 1985–1986 | Ronald Reagan | George P. Shultz |
| 12 | Charles Edgar Redman | 1986–1989 | Ronald Reagan | George P. Shultz |
| 13 | Margaret D. Tutwiler | 1989–1992 | George H. W. Bush | James Baker |
| 14 | Richard Boucher | 1992–1993 | George H. W. Bush | Lawrence Eagleburger |
| 15 | Mike McCurry | 1993–1995 | Bill Clinton | Warren Christopher |
| 16 | R. Nicholas Burns | 1995–1997 | Bill Clinton | Warren Christopher |
| 17 | James Rubin | 1997–2000 | Bill Clinton | Madeleine Albright |
| 18 | Richard Boucher | 2001–2005 | George W. Bush | Colin Powell |
| 19 | Sean McCormack | 2005–2009 | George W. Bush | Condoleezza Rice |
| 20 | Ian C. Kelly | 2009–2010 | Barack Obama | Hillary Clinton |
| 21 | Philip J. Crowley | 2010–2011 | Barack Obama | Hillary Clinton |
| 22 | Victoria Nuland | 2011–2013 | Barack Obama | Hillary Clinton |
| 23 | Jen Psaki | 2013–2015 | Barack Obama | John Kerry |
| 24 | Marie Harf | 2015 | Barack Obama | John Kerry |
| 25 | John Kirby | 2015–2017 | Barack Obama | John Kerry |
| 26 | Mark Toner | 2017 | Donald Trump | Rex Tillerson |
| 27 | Heather Nauert | 2017–2019 | Donald Trump | Rex Tillerson, Mike Pompeo |
| 28 | Morgan Ortagus | 2019–2021 | Donald Trump | Mike Pompeo |
| 29 | Ned Price | 2021–2023 | Joe Biden | Antony Blinken |
| 30 | Matthew Miller | 2023–2025 | Joe Biden | Antony Blinken |
| 31 | Tammy Bruce | 2025–present | Donald Trump | Marco Rubio |