President Donald Trump said Saturday he has offered the job of White House press secretary to UFC CEO Dana White, a close friend. The post has had no permanent occupant since October.
Trump announced it on Truth Social while at his golf club in Florida, calling White "a violent Fighter and Warrior," NPR reported. He also suggested White bring UFC fighters Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje and Amanda Nunes with him as assistants, according to NBC News.
White was in London for a Zuffa Boxing event. At a news conference after the fights, he told reporters he was heading to Washington right away and would meet Trump on Monday, ESPN reported. He did not say whether he had accepted.
He had already posted Trump's message to his Instagram story, next to a photo of himself behind the lectern in the White House briefing room. The caption read "On to the next chapter."
The signals have been mixed. CNN's Brian Stelter reported earlier Saturday that White had turned the offer down, Yahoo Sports noted, before White's comments in London. The White House did not immediately respond when The Hill asked it to confirm the offer.
Karoline Leavitt left the job in August. Her successor, Katie Zacharia, was out in October after five days and one briefing, CBS News reported.
The press office is not the only change at the top. Stephen Miller takes over from Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff on Monday, Reuters reported, following Republican losses in the midterms.
Trump has attended many UFC events as president, and in June the league staged a card on the White House South Lawn.