CNN has hired a former spokesperson for ex-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to be a new political editor, a rep for the network confirmed to TheWrap on Tuesday. Sarah Isgur will begin her role next month.
Isgur will coordinate political coverage for the 2020 cycle for TV and digital. She will also appear on air analyzing politics, according to a person familiar with the matter, but she will not be covering the Department of Justice.
Isgur joined the Trump administration in 2017 despite a history of criticism toward the billionaire. Before that, she previously worked as a campaign operative during the 2016 primary in behalf of ex-HP boss Carly Fiorina.
“While it is common for departing administration officials to join cable news networks as analysts or contributors, it is less common for them to oversee news coverage,” Politico reported on Tuesday. “Isgur has no experience in news.” The political site also said that Isgur would “oversee news coverage” for CNN in 2020.
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Isgur did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.
The news comes on the same day that CNN parted ways with Marc Short, who left the network as a paid contributor to return to White House as Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff. The Short departure is the latest in a long string of pro-Trump voices who have left or been dropped by the channel, including Jeffrey Lord, Ed Martin and Paris Dennard.
The network — which constantly faces criticism from both liberals and conservatives over coverage choices — immediately came in for flack from left-wing Twitter personalities on Tuesday.
“This is going to raise some eyebrows.” Huffington Post editor-in-chief Lydia Polgreen said in a tweet.
“Donald Trump being in office is good for CNN executives and for the executives at the larger AT&T conglomerate, and they are hiring Jeff Sessions’ top flack to help run their 2020 coverage,” added Vox’s Matthew Yglesias.
News of Isgur’s hiring was first reported by Politico.
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