After a year and a half at the podium, White House press secretary Jen Psaki is planning to leave the White House on Friday, May 13, and her current second-in-command, principal deputy White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, will be her replacement, President Joe Biden announced Thursday.
Jean-Pierre will be the first Black—and first gay—woman to hold the position of White House press secretary.
Prior to being named principal deputy press secretary, Jean-Pierre was vp Kamala Harris‘ chief of staff on the 2020 presidential campaign trail—a former top official with the liberal advocacy group MoveOn—and also served as an NBC News and MSNBC political analyst in 2019.
“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. Jill and I have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this Administration,” Biden said in a statement.
Psaki tweeted the news as well:
Lots to say about how grateful I am to @POTUS and @FLOTUS and the Biden family for trusting me to serve as @PressSec and plenty of time before my last day to share, but today is about @KJP46 so a few thoughts on this remarkable woman who will soon be behind the podium every day.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) May 5, 2022
Some additional detail on this historic day. @POTUS asked @KJP46 if she would serve as the next @PressSec in the oval office this afternoon.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) May 5, 2022
The current White House press secretary did not mention her next move, but it is assumed she will be joining MSNBC to host a program on the cable channel and likely a streaming show on NBC’s Peacock.
“Jen Psaki has set the standard for returning decency, respect and decorum to the White House Briefing Room. I want to say thank you to Jen for raising the bar, communicating directly and truthfully to the American people and keeping her sense of humor while doing so. I thank Jen her service to the country, and wish her the very best as she moves forward,” said President Biden.