[2] Since 2011, the Assistant Secretary and the State Department Spokesperson have been two separate roles held by different people.

[3] In late 2015, the two roles were once again merged with the appointment of Spokesperson John Kirby as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.

[4] The State Department spokesperson is responsible for communicating the foreign policy of the United States to American and foreign media, typically in a daily press briefing.

The daily press briefing typically includes a summary of the secretary of state's schedule, any upcoming trips by the secretary, the president of the United States, or other distinguished State Department officials including under secretaries and assistant secretaries, and official reactions and positions of the U.S. government on certain news of the day, followed by Q&A with journalists attending the briefing.

A tradition that began during the tenure of John Foster Dulles as secretary of state in the 1950s,[5] the daily press briefing is on-the-record, and is recorded and made available on the State Department's website.