Pence's Communications Director Joining Pentagon as New Press Secretary

The Pentagon has a new press secretary.

Alyssa Farah, spokeswoman for Vice President Mike Pence, will be joining the Pentagon next month in the role. Farah will also be the deputy assistant to the defense secretary for media, according to a report from The Washington Post.

"After 2 unforgettable years at the White House with the @VP, I'm honored to head to @DeptofDefense to serve as Press Secretary on behalf of @EsperDoD & the incredible men & women of our Armed Forces," Farah announced via Twitter on Wednesday. "I look forward to joining the team helmed by @ChiefPentSpox."

Farah, who is also Pence's communications director, previously worked on Capitol Hill for five years in various press jobs, most notably as the House Freedom Caucus spokeswoman and prior to that as communications director for Rep. Mark Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, the Post said.

She was also an associate producer on "The Laura Ingraham Show," which ran on radio from 2001 to 2018, prior to taking on more political roles in her career, according to her LinkedIn page.

"Thrilled the Pentagon has recruited one of the top professionals in Washington. Well done, [Alyssa]," Nick Ayers, Pence's former chief of staff, said via Twitter following the news.

Farah will join Jonathan Hoffman, the assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, on the press engagement team. Hoffman replaced Dana White following White's resignation on Dec. 31, 2018. The Defense Department Inspector General's office last month concluded its investigation into White, a former policy aide to the late Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, stating White misused her subordinates' time to run errands for her during and after work hours.

Farah's addition comes as the Pentagon is attempting to revitalize its engagements with the press.

The DoD marked one year without an on-camera press briefing May 31; previously, briefings often occurred weekly. In June, officials broke that streak to address the ongoing heightened tensions with Iran following Iran's takedown of a Navy-operated RQ-4 Global Hawk drone. Officials took no questions following the briefing, which was a prepared statement read to the press.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.