By Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times
Former Trump White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed on to become a paid contributor for Fox News Channel, the network announced Thursday.
Sanders, 37, departed the Trump administration in July after serving as the president’s chief spokesperson for two years. She will begin her career as a pundit Sept. 6, making her debut on the Fox News morning program “Fox & Friends.”
While Fox News has come under scrutiny for having a revolving door of on-air analysts and anchors who have landed jobs in the Trump administration, former White House press secretaries making the move into on-air TV roles has become typical.
Dee Dee Myers became a host for CNBC after serving as press secretary in the Clinton White House. ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos also had that role before he entered TV journalism. Current Fox News afternoon anchor Dana Perino was press secretary during George W. Bush’s administration.
While Sanders was often criticized for perpetuating falsehoods that came out of the White House, her longevity in the job will make her recognizable to TV audiences. She is also experienced in defending the administration’s policies after serving as a loyal soldier to Trump, a task that has become more challenging as the president’s unfavorable ratings among voters has risen.
Sanders did meet with other network news divisions before signing with Fox, according to people familiar with the talks.
After Sanders left the White House, there were reports she was considering a run for governor of Arkansas. Her father, Mike Huckabee, served in that office from 1997 to 2007. He has also worked for Fox News as a host.
Sanders is the second Trump press secretary to land a TV job this week. Her predecessor, Sean Spicer, will be a participant on ABC’s competition reality series “Dancing With the Stars.”
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