President Donald Trump's allies are maneuvering to "derail" conservative commentator Scott Jennings' bid to become the next White House press secretary, according to a Thursday report by the New York Post.

The Post reported that Trump's "fiercest allies" are seeking to undermine Jennings because of his longstanding ties to his mentor, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Trump is still working to fill the position that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will vacate at the end of the month. The vacancy carries weight beyond West Wing staffing: the press secretary is the administration's most visible daily messenger, and Leavitt, who at 27 became the youngest person ever to hold the title, emerged as one of the most prominent faces of Trump's second term through her regular televised briefings.

"It's not going to be him," an anonymous source close to the administration told the Post.

According to the Post, Jennings met with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles this past weekend. However, a senior administration official said no clear favorite has emerged for the role.

"It's an open book," the senior administration official said. "There are no favorites or preconceived ideas."

The Post's reporting, though, framed the indecision as an effort by Trump insiders to sabotage Jennings' chances because of his connection to McConnell. Jennings, a Kentucky native who served in President George W. Bush's White House before becoming a longtime pro-Trump presence on CNN's political panels, has spoken about his relationship with McConnell in light of the senior senator's extended absence. The McConnell tie is a sensitive one in MAGA circles: McConnell was the longest-serving party leader in Senate history before stepping down from the post in January 2025, and his relationship with Trump ruptured after the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol attack.

The newspaper also noted that Jennings aligned himself with McConnell's position holding Trump responsible for the violence at the Capitol on January 6. In a CNN op-ed, Jennings wrote, "Trump caused this insurrection with his lies and conspiracy theories about the election process being rigged."

When the Post reached out to Jennings for comment, he responded with a gif of Patrick Swayze's character from the 1989 film "Road House," captioned, "Opinions vary."

Jennings recently took the Trump position when responding to Sen. Jon Ossoff's comments about how the president prefers to "travel with Natalie Harp" instead of doing his job. In a fiery CNN debate, Jennings insisted that Harp does not deserve to be attacked because she does not have a public-facing role, but he refused to denounce Trump's attacks on women, including female reporters.

Harp herself has emerged as a possible dark-horse candidate for Leavitt's job. A former One America News host who served in Trump's first White House and 2020 campaign before returning as a personal aide known for bringing the president printed news articles, Harp has largely operated behind the scenes rather than in front of cameras. Insiders have also said that Trump would prefer to hire a man for the position, while others report that the president would not mind holding off on a hiring decision until after the midterms. With Leavitt's departure set for the end of the month, the open question is whether a successor is named before November's midterm elections or after them.