Kayleigh McEnany Will Co-Anchor Fox News Channel’s ‘Outnumbered’

Brian Steinberg
·3 min read
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Kayleigh McEnany, the former White House Press Secretary during the Trump administration, will take on a regular anchoring job at Fox News Channel, co-hosting the daytime program, “Outnumbered,” a move that helps cement the Fox Corporation-backed outlet’s Trump ties in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Starting April 6, McEnany will appear regularly on the program along with Harris Faulkner, who has been a regular presence on the show since its launch in 2014, as well as Emily Compagno, a co-host, and a rotating panel of guests. Her new post was announced just a day after Fox News unveiled plans to make Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, a contributor even as she publicly mulls a potential bid for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina.

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McEnany was named a contributor to the network earlier this month.

“Kayleigh’s unique background in politics and law coupled with her experiences confronting women’s health challenges and life as a new mom will add robust insight to ‘Outnumbered’ — we are delighted to welcome her back to Fox News where she began her media career,” said Suzanne Scott, Fox News Media’s CEO, in a prepared statement.

Other White House press secretaries have contributed to news outlets. Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush, has made appearances on CNN and Fox News. Joe Lockhart, the former press secretary for President Bill Clinton, was named a political commentator for CNN in 2018. Jen Psaki, President Biden’s current press secretary, provided commentary to CNN between 2017 and 2020. Most of them go on to do consulting work in the areas of public affairs and crisis communications, rather than taking up duties on a daytime talk show.

McEnany has never struck the traditional White House pose, however. She first came to wider prominence as a contributor at CNN in the run-up to the nation’s 2016 election, serving as a sort of pro-Trump surrogate, though she criticized him as a candidate in earlier days. She served as a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee and Trump’s re-election campaign before taking on one of the U.S. government’s most public roles. During her time as press secretary, she routinely used press conferences at the White House to insult reporters while declining to answer questions or provide basic information about crucial national issues.

She is making a return to a place she called home at an early point in her career. She was once a production assistant assigned to “Huckabee,” the now-defunct Fox News program hosted by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee that ran on Fox News between 2008 and 2015. Fox News had initially held talks with her after the 2020 election.

Fox News has hired other former members of Trump’s Washington circle. Another former press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was a contributor to Fox News after leaving the White House. She and Fox News parted ways after she indicated she would try to run for the gubernatorial office in Arkansas. And Larry Kudlow, the former Trump economic advisor, launched a new post-market show on Fox Business Network in February.

 

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