For the first time in history, the White House will have a press secretary of African descent. President Joe Biden has appointed Karine Jean-Pierre, a Haitian American woman who will be the first openly official a part of the LGBTQ+ community to serve in the role. Jean-Pierre will be replacing Jen Psaki, who is transitioning from the role to a position with MSNBC.
“Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris Administration on behalf of the American people,” Biden said in a statement on Thursday (May 5). “Jill and I have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this Administration.”
Her duties will consist of her preparing press conferences and briefings on the behalf of the U.S. president and White House. Jean-Pierre previously held the principal deputy position under Psaki, often covering for her when she was out of office, and served as senior communications head for organization MoveOn.org. The New Yorker, who lives with her daughter and partner, CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, graduated from Columbia University.
“One of the first conversations we had when we both found out we were getting these jobs was about how we wanted to build a drama-free, on your best days, workplace where everybody worked hard. Where we, on our best days, were rebuilding trust with the public,” Psaki said.
Psaki served as press secretary for one year. Her last day is on May 13. In the meantime, several personnel changes are taking place in preparation for the mid-term elections. Anita Dunn, a former adviser to Biden who left the position for the consulting firm SKDK, will be returning as senior adviser.
