"Saturday Night Live" fans who were gearing up to see Rosie O'Donnell play White House chief strategist Steve Bannon are going to be sorely disappointed -- this weekend, at least. 
 
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 According to O'Donnell's publicist, the actress is not going to play Bannon this weekend. 
 
 On Thursday, O'Donnell replaced her Twitter avatar with an image of her face on Bannon's head, sparking chatter that she was preparing to play him on the comedy show. A rep for "SNL" would only say, "We do not comment on rumored guest appearances." 
 
 Twitter/@Rosie 
 
 O'Donnell, 54, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump's administration, first expressed her interest in the role Monday night in a series of tweets after one of her 961,000 Twitter followers asked if she would be interested in playing Bannon -- whom "SNL" has so far portrayed as the Grim Reaper. 
 
 "I am here to serve," O'Donnell wrote. "Alec [Baldwin] has Trump - Melissa [McCarthy] has [White House press secretary Sean] Spice[r] - I would need a few days to prepare - so if called - I will be ready." 
 
 And in another tweet, she wrote, "available - if called I will serve !!!" 
 
 @calvininsf - i am here to serve - alec has trump - melissa has spice - i would need a few days to prepare - so if called - i will be ready — ROSIE (@Rosie) February 7, 2017 
 
 available - if called i will serve !!! https://t.co/LT84EJjfsw — ROSIE (@Rosie) February 7, 2017 
 
 Aside from her fans, O'Donnell's campaign to play Bannon has been well-received by her Hollywood peers. Following her avatar change Thursday, actor George Takei tweeted, "Oh, a thousand times, yes. If there is a God, please let this happen." 
 
 Oh, a thousand times, yes. If there is a God, please let this happen. @Rosie @nbcsnl pic.twitter.com/X1YrzRpIv1 — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 10, 2017 
 
 O'Donnell has been feuding with Trump since late 2006, when she criticized him on "The View." Since then, the two have traded insults on social media and in the press. And in September, when Hillary Clinton accused Trump of sexism during a debate, he responded in part by bashing O'Donnell. 
 
 "Somebody who's been very vicious to me, Rosie O'Donnell, I said very tough things to her, and I think everybody would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her,” he said. 
 
 Alec Baldwin, who has played Trump on "SNL" since last year, is slated to host the show this week. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 / Updated By Mark Hanrahan 
 
 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has become the latest member of President Donald Trump's administration to get the "Saturday Night Live" treatment, courtesy of actor and comedian Melissa McCarthy. 
 
 In a surprise cameo, McCarthy mimicked Spicer's famously combative first appearance with the White House press corps, at which he angrily took issue with reports about the size of the crowd at Trump's inauguration. 
 
 "I'd like to begin today by apologizing on behalf of you to me," McCarthy yells at reporters. 
 
 "And that apology is not accepted!" 
 
 McCarty, a four-time "SNL" host, screamed, poured an entire container of gum down her throat and literally used her lectern as a bully pulpit, pushing troublesome reporters back into their seats during the sketch. 
 
 Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer on 'Saturday Night Live' 
 
 McCarthy has been nominated for Emmy awards for each of her appearances hosting the show. 
 
 The sketch also took aim at Spicer and the administration's spats with individual media outlets, featuring a diaper-clad CNN journalist caged in the corner of the press room. 
 
 In a possible case of life imitating art, Spicer was engaged in a Twitter spat on the evening the show was broadcast with a Washington Post reporter over a story he described as "false." 
 
 McCarthy is the latest in a string of high-profile performers to make fun of prominent politicians on the show. Alec Baldwin has made frequent guest appearances as Trump, and Larry David won over viewers with his comedic portrayal of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, a Democratic presidential candidate 
 
 Her appearance was not the only time the show took aim at team Trump this week. Baldwin returned as the president for this week's cold open sketch, featuring an Oval Office meeting with Steve Bannon, played by a cast member in a full Grim Reaper costume. 
 
 Host Kristen Stewart also took a jab at Trump, mocking his habit of tweeting about her former relationship with her "Twilight" co-star Robert Pattinson. 
 
 While Spicer has yet to comment on his portrayal on the show, Trump has made his feelings clear about Baldwin's impersonation — he's not a fan. ||||| Screenshot from Hulu 
 
 Melissa McCarthy’s devastatingly specific portrayal of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer struck a nerve. First, on Super Bowl Sunday, Spicer whined about Saturday Night Live being too “mean” and said that McCarthy needed to “dial back.” Then, Monday night, a Politico article outlined how the White House responded internally—short version: not well—to the sketch. One detail in the report particularly resonated: that Trump was most upset by the fact that Spicer was played by a woman. 
 
 Now that we know Trump has a particular hang-up about seeing his staffers portrayed by female comedians, which he allegedly thinks makes them “look weak,” we decided to double down. Twitter has already lit upon one great idea: having Trump archnemesis Rosie O’Donnell play Steve Bannon, who is currently depicted as the Grim Reaper on SNL. Here are 12 actress who should portray the rest of Trump’s inner circle. It seems fitting for an increasingly unfunny presidency that many of these women aren’t even comedians at all. 
 
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 Margo Martindale as Rex Tillerson (Secretary of State) 
 
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 Most notably with her Emmy-winning Justified turn, Margo Martindale has demonstrated a real knack for playing opportunistic, slightly sinister power players with a thick Texan drawl. She’ll slip easily into the shoes of Mr. Tillerson, an oil tycoon of similarly villainous mien. 
 
 Sarah Silverman as Steve Mnuchin (Secretary of the Treasury) 
 
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 Former Goldman Sachs partner Steve Mnuchin is in the uncomfortable position, as a Jewish person, of repping an administration that has already begun dabbling in anti-Semitism and neo-Nazi propaganda. Sarah Silverman, a virtuoso at mining her own Jewishness for comedy, could brilliantly highlight the tension here—and as a passionate Bernie supporter, she’d be the perfect person to skewer Mnuchin’s Wall Street ties, too. 
 
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 Laurie Metcalf as Reince Priebus (Chief of Staff) 
 
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 As Reince Priebus finds himself on the outs with Trump’s inner circle, rattled by a Game of Thrones-level power struggle, it’s fun to picture the Chief of Staff—just as reports have depicted him in the past—nearly losing his mind and getting a little unhinged. Laurie Metcalf’s bug-eyed, frantic energy—showcased most recently in HBO’s Getting On—would be a great comedic match for Preibus. 
 
 Jessica Lange as Jeff Sessions (Attorney General) 
 
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 The portrayer of Jeff Sessions, the former Alabama Senator with a transparently racist record, needs to be a chameleon, an actress with the ability to seethe and charm both convincingly and extravagantly. Ryan Murphy muse Jessica Lange gets the call. 
 
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 Niecy Nash as Ben Carson (Secretary of Housing and Urban Development) 
 
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 Truthfully, there’s likely no comic who can go more bizarre than Ben Carson himself (though Jay Pharoah came pretty close). Yet the versatile, wildly funny Niecy Nash would at minimum take the character in a fascinating direction. She’s skilled in comedy that’s broad, subtle, and strange—each necessary for a solid Carson impersonation—and she’s particularly well-versed in the performance of clueless authority. 
 
 Kathy Bates as Sonny Perdue (Secretary of Agriculture) 
 
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 Sonny Perdue served as Governor of Georgia for eight years before transitioning to Trump’s cabinet. One of the less controversial picks on this list (not that that’s saying much), he’s a fairly well-liked, run-of-the-mill Southern conservative who gets by on charm. Kathy Bates, with her proven comic range and booming affability, is a natural fit. 
 
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 Catherine O’Hara as Tom Price (Secretary of Health and Human Services) 
 
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 Tom Price tries to hide a lot behind that “modest smile” of his, but it barely masks his ethically compromised character. Catherine O’Hara’s ability to deftly balance chipperness and distress could take the image of Price contently lying under oath to a wonderful, unsettling extreme. 
 
 Amy Poehler as Rick Perry (Secretary of Energy) 
 
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 Perry’s very presence on the Trump cabinet—leading the department he a) wanted to abolish, b) couldn’t remember existed at a pivotal moment, and c) didn’t understand the function of until after he’d taken a job—is already beyond the realm of parody. It’s not hard to imagine Poehler sinking her teeth into his dim, dull, unnervingly unflappable essence. 
 
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 Viola Davis as James Mattis (Secretary of Defense) 
 
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 James Mattis, who has worked under both President Bush and President Obama, is almost certainly going to spend much of his time as Defense Secretary keeping the erratic, dangerous impulses of President Trump, Steve Bannon, and the like in check. He’s a unique figure in the cabinet, a relatively intelligent and stable official who’ll have to very carefully strive to correct course. Viola Davis is a great dramatic actress, and she could dryly channel Mattis’ brand of no-nonsense patience. 
 
 Jane Lynch as Mike Pence (Vice President) 
 
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 You may have heard already, but Mike Pence has serious problems with LGBTQ people and women (among others). What could be more fitting than a proudly queer and bitingly wry comic taking on the task of satirizing such bigotry? Her brutal deadpan would be the perfect match for Pence. 
 
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 Natalie Portman as Jared Kushner (Top White House Advisor) 
 
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 As Trump’s son-in-law and closest advisor, Jared Kushner brings a long and complicated history to the White House. Concealing everything from high-society pretensions to ideological contradictions to probable daddy issues, he’s built up a fairly inscrutable demeanor in his rise to top advisor. Natalie Portman would capture Kushner’s plasticine good looks and the mannered, slow-burn intensity that previously won her an Oscar (and could earn her a second). 
 
 Keri Russell as Michael Flynn (National Security Advisor) 
 
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– Sean Spicer may have laughed off Melissa McCarthy's portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live, but the White House is in fact "rattled," reports Politico, noting "it was Spicer's portrayal by a woman that was most problematic in the president's eyes." As one President Trump donor puts it, "Trump doesn't like his people to look weak." Some say Trump's silence on the skit on Twitter suggests it hit a little too close to home. And though Spicer described it as "cute" and "funny," sources say he actually found it upsetting. But "it doesn't really matter what I think," Spicer tells Politico. "I would much rather have the focus be on the president's agenda and the success he's having. That's all I'm saying on it." Steve Bannon should perhaps prepare for a similar portrayal. After Saturday's skit, a fan on Twitter suggested Rosie O'Donnell should dress up as Trump to get under his skin, reports Vanity Fair. O'Donnell responded that Alec Baldwin portrays Trump and McCarthy does Spicer, but she later agreed she'd like to play Bannon, whom Mikey Day has portrayed as the Grim Reaper on SNL. "If called, I will be ready," O'Donnell tweeted. "I am here to serve." The show hasn't said if O'Donnell is likely to appear, but support is growing on Twitter, with one user suggesting such a skit would let O'Donnell "have the last laugh on Trump" after a decade-long feud, per the Huffington Post.