White House Communications Director Anita Dunn is stepping down from her position at the end of the month, TPM has confirmed. While NBC News White House Correspondent Chuck Todd says the move is as expected, the news does come a bit earlier than planned — the move was always expected at the end of the year.
Dunn was an interim replacement for Ellen Moran, who quit the position earlier this year to take a job as Commerce Secretary Gary Locke’s Chief of Staff. Dunn was named as Moran’s replacement in April. She was actually President Obama’s first choice for the job, but declined due to family considerations.
Deputy Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer will replace Dunn, who will remain a consultant to the White House on media strategy issues.
Dunn made a name for herself in the temporary position as she led the charge in the Obama administration’s battle with Fox News. In October, she called Fox “more a wing of the Republican party” rather than a news organization (video here).
“The reality of it is that Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party,” Dunn said. The cable network lashed out at the White House in response, calling Dunn’s remarks “self-serving.” Rather than backing down, the feud became protracted when senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said “it’s not really a news station” and Fox once again responded.
