Kellyanne Conway says she WON'T be heading to the White House after she 'politely declined' offer to become Trump's press secretary

Conway confirmed the news for the first time during a radio interview
She ran the Trump campaign in its final months and was a favorite for the job
Trump's campaign manager cited her family as a factor for not joining the administration
Trump hasn't announced who will be his press secretary

Published: 12:17 GMT, 13 December 2016 | Updated: 16:34 GMT, 13 December 2016

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It's official: Kellyanne Conway won't be Donald Trump's press secretary.

Conway told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday that she won't serve as the Trump administration's top spokesperson.

The former Trump campaign manager and now senior adviser had hinted before that she might not work with the incoming administration and confirmed for the first time yesterday that she has 'politely declined' the role of press secretary.

Conway added: 'I think it’s an incredibly important position to fill. And I know that there will be a qualified man or woman who takes that position and does an excellent job for President Trump and Vice President Pence.

Conway won't be Trump's press secretary and prefers to remain in an outside adviser role

She became manager of Trump's campaign in August, then steered him to an improbable win

'As you can imagine, if it’s President Trump’s administration, communications will be a very important aspect of it. And there will be a number of people handling that.'

Conway, who ran the Trump campaign in its final months, was a favorite for the high-profile job.

In November, it was reported that the president-elect offered Conway the choice of press secretary or communications director, but that she preferred to remain in an outside adviser role.

She has been open about her reluctance to take a job inside the White House. Earlier this month she tweeted that Trump will need a 'superstructure like the one [David] Plouffe built'.

Plouffe crafted President Obama's winning White House strategies and shied away from serving in his administration.

David Plouffe, left, also cited his family as a factor for not serving in the Obama administration

Speaking at POLITICO's Women Rule Summit last week, Conway said that as a mother of four taking a White House position is a 'bad idea, bad idea, bad idea, bad idea'.

She said: '[I]n terms of going into the West Wing, I will do whatever the president-elect and the vice president-elect - I worked with Mike Pence for 10 years - they believe is my best and highest use for them.

'But I know the relationship will be the same, so I’m not worried about it.'

Conway became manager of Trump's campaign in August, then steered him to an improbable win.

Trump hasn't announced who will be his press secretary, but a few people have raised their hands: Trump's communications director Jason Miller, the Republican National Committee’s communications director Sean Spicer and radio host Laura Ingraham, who has also served the president-elect as an informal adviser.