Trump offers UFC chief Dana White White House press secretary job
Dana White offered press secretary job as Trump adopts combative stance
US President Donald Trump has offered his friend and UFC chief Dana White the White House press secretary job and ordered the Justice Department to investigate Democrats, striking a combative tone after his party's defeat in the midterm elections.
Democrats handed Trump's Republicans a major defeat in this week's midterm elections and will take control of both chambers of Congress in January. They have promised robust investigations into Trump and his administration.
Trump, however, showed no signs of being chastened.
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He offered the press secretary position to White, a loyal supporter who heads the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the mixed martial arts organisation.
"Dana, please take the job!" Trump posted on social media, describing White as a "violent Fighter and Warrior".
Speaking to reporters after a boxing event in London late Saturday, White said he was flying to Washington "right now" and would meet Trump on Monday.
"I'll have more to talk about after that," he said.
White had earlier shared a photograph, possibly AI-generated, showing him behind the lectern in the White House press briefing room, captioned: "On to the next chapter."
Trump also ordered the Justice Department to investigate Democrats for what he called "extortion at the highest level".
"The Democrats are going around threatening a lot of people," he wrote, adding that he was directing the Justice Department to "look into this criminal act".
Denying that anyone in his administration had committed impeachable offences, Trump called for prison time for "these EXTORTIONISTS".
Trump adopts combative tone after midterm defeat
The announcements came a day after Trump appointed Stephen Miller as his next chief of staff, describing the combative senior adviser as "a great fighter".
Miller will replace Susie Wiles, whose departure marks the first staffing fallout from the Republicans' election defeat.
Trump's combative social media posts echoed comments he made after a smaller midterm defeat in 2018, when he said his White House would adopt "a war-like posture" in response to investigations. Trump was subsequently impeached in 2019 and 2021.
The White House has been without a press secretary since October 16, when Katie Zacharia left the position after less than a week in the job.
White, 57, is the president and chief executive of the UFC, one of the world's largest mixed martial arts organisations, whose cage fights are broadcast globally.
Trump listed six UFC fighters he hoped White would bring to the White House as advisers, "even though some are not from our Country".
"We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left," he said of the fighters, who include two Russians and one Brazilian.
Trump and White are long-time friends, and the US president has frequently sought to associate his MAGA political brand with the hugely popular UFC.
On Trump's 80th birthday in June, the UFC held a cage fight on the White House South Lawn. Trump has also attended bouts in Miami, New York and New Jersey since beginning his second term.
When Trump won re-election in 2024, White appeared alongside the Republican at his victory speech.
Democrats prepare investigations into Trump administration
If White formally accepts the position, he will have his work cut out for him.
Trump faces a significantly changed and increasingly hostile political landscape after Democrats secured control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections.
With control of committees in both chambers, Democrats can summon officials, demand documents and hold public hearings, potentially placing Trump and his senior aides under intense scrutiny.
Likely investigations could examine the Trump family's business and cryptocurrency dealings, government contracts involving billionaire Elon Musk, cuts to federal agencies, immigration enforcement, the conduct of the Iran war and the handling of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"Lawyer up," incoming House Oversight Committee chairman Robert Garcia wrote on X as the election results became clear.
Democrats could pursue a third impeachment of Trump, although party leaders have not committed to doing so.
The House needs only a simple majority to impeach a president. Removing him from office, however, requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate, a threshold well beyond the Democrats' current numbers.
