(Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) 
 
 President-elect Donald Trump named Republican National Committee official Sean Spicer as White House press secretary, filling what is likely to be a challenging position given Trump’s sometimes hostile relationship with the media and his propensity to bypass staff to communicate directly with the public on Twitter. [Trump names campaign manager Kellyanne Conway as White House counselor to the president] 
 
 Spicer, Miller, Hicks and Scavino will all hold the title of assistant to the president, in addition to their other titles. Trump also announced that longtime aide Hope Hicks, his campaign press secretary, will serve as director of strategic communications, and Dan Scavino will continue his current role as director of social media. Story Continued Below 
 
 “Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition,” Trump, who has not held a news conference since July, said in a statement. “I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again.” 
 
 They join Trump’s former campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to the president-elect whom the transition team announced Thursday morning will serve in the White House as a counselor to Trump. But with fewer than 30 days until his inauguration, Thursday’s announcements are the biggest inroads Trump has made with his White House staff since naming RNC Chairman Reince Priebus his White House chief of staff and campaign CEO and former Breitbart executive Steve Bannon a chief strategist and senior counselor — positions Trump cast as co-equals. Spicer, the RNC’s communications director since 2011 and chief strategist since 2015, has become an increasingly visible presence on Trump’s team since the GOP nominee won the election on Nov. 8. And I think that’s a view shared by a lot of former White House press secretaries, a view by some in the media, in fact, that the White House press briefings have become somewhat of a spectacle,” Spicer told anchor Megyn Kelly on Dec. 15. “Look, I think that many things have to change, and I think that it’s important that we look at all of those traditions that are great, but quite frankly, as you know, don’t really make news,” Priebus said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. And you know, even looking at things like the daily White House briefing from the press secretary, I mean, there’s a lot of different ways that things can be done, and I can assure you we’re looking at that.” 
 
 Even reserved seating, which Priebus incorrectly asserted wasn’t an issue until the Obama administration took over, could get reshaped.
– Donald Trump announced his White House communications team Thursday with former RNC communications director Sean Spicer nabbing the role of White House press secretary, Politico reports. The rest of the team will be Hope Hicks as strategic communications director, Jason Miller as communications director, and Dan Scavino as social media director. “Sean, Hope, Jason, and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition,” Trump said in a statement. “I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again.” Trump likely made the final decisions on his communications team Wednesday during "internal staff meetings" at Mar-a-Lago. Spicer, believed to have been the favorite for the press secretary role due to his connections with incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus, calls it an "amazing honor," Fox News reports. But the Washington Post notes it's "likely to be a challenging position given Trump's sometimes hostile relationship with the media," not to mention his habit of unfiltered tweeting. On the other hand, CNN reports Spicer's appointment could be seen as a "positive sign" for members of the media afraid Trump would limit press access to his administration. After 15 years doing communications for Republicans in Washington, Spicer knows the "press relations game" in the city.