Spicer on shakeup rumors: ‘I’m right here’

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday did not deny reports that he might be leaving his spot behind the lectern as part of a reshuffle of the West Wing communications staff. 

“I’m right here,” Spicer said with a chuckle, telling reporters, “You can keep taking your selfies.”

{mosads}The comments came during Spicer’s first on-camera briefing in eight days, an unusually long gap that sparked rumors the press office might undergo a shakeup that would result in his role changing.

“Look, it’s no secret we’ve had a couple vacancies, including our communications director, he’s been gone for a while,” Spicer said. “We’ve been meeting with potential people that may be of service to this administration. I don’t think that should come as any surprise but we’re always looking for ways to do a better job of articulating the president’s message and his agenda.”

The spokesman added that, “when we have an announcement of a personnel nature, we’ll let you know.”

Spicer has held two jobs since the resignation of Mike Dubke as communications director last month. The embattled spokesman has reportedly been interviewing candidates to replace him on the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room podium as part of a shift that could see him take on another White House post. 

Trump has been critical of the White House communications office, saying in an interview last month that they have struggled to keep up with his fast-paced style. The president’s tweets have often undercut official messages put forth by the White House, which staff have privately complained about. 

The president has publicly mused about having fewer press briefings, and instead, conducting more press conferences and in-person interviews. 

“As a very active president with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!” Tump tweeted last month. “Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future “press briefings” and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???”

But thus far, no sweeping changes have been enacted and Trump has not stepped up his own media engagement. He has not conducted a solo press conference since February and his last television interview came on May 13.

This story was updated at 3:39 p.m.