About a week ago, the State Department’s chief spokesperson Tammy Bruce held her latest press briefing and fielded a question from a reporter. The journalist noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson was in the West Bank, which he referred to as “Judean Samaria,” which the Louisiana Republican said rightly belongs to the Jewish people. “Is that official U.S. policy?” the reporter asked.
Bruce responded that Johnson had simply shared “his opinion.” But when pressed further on whether Johnson’s comments reflected the opinion of the United States government, the State Department’s chief spokesperson replied, “Well, I’m not going to speak about opinion of the government.”
The response raised a few eyebrows for reasons that should be obvious: talking to reporters about the country’s foreign policy views are a key part of Bruce’s job, whether she realizes this or not. The incident served as a timely reminder that when it came time to choose the State Department’s chief spokesperson earlier this year, Team Trump made an unwise choice.
Indeed, some tune in to Bruce’s briefings for the unintentional entertainment value of watching someone offer North Korea–style praise for Donald Trump on a very regular basis.
Tammy Bruce: "We live in a fascinating, exciting time where we've got a man who can make the difference, and he's generous about making that difference. He could've chosen to have his term be about anything other than peace and making America great again … all of us are grateful."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-06-17T18:57:09.555Z
But while Bruce’s briefings have bordered on satire in recent months, doing lasting harm to reputation and credibility, they appear — predictably — to have been well received in the West Wing. The New York Times reported:
President Trump said on Saturday that he was nominating Tammy Bruce, a spokeswoman for the State Department, as the next deputy representative of the United States to the United Nations. Mr. Trump said on Truth Social that Ms. Bruce had done a ‘fantastic job’ in her State Department role and that she would ‘represent our Country brilliantly at the United Nations.’
Bruce parlayed a lengthy career on Fox News into a Trump administration position, which in turn led to a promotion of sorts.
She will still need to be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate (which seems like a safe bet); and if successful on Capitol Hill, she’ll likely work alongside Michael Waltz, whom Trump tapped to serve as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. following his difficult tenure as the White House national security adviser. He, too, is awaiting Senate confirmation.
