(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Shortly after proclaiming that the Biden administration’s cabinet is the most diverse in history, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that two staffers working under her will be leaving their employment simultaneously.
Jean-Pierre made the statements at a press conference, taking a significant chunk of time to run through the administration’s diversity stats, according to the Daily Wire,
Jean-Pierre: "The Cabinet is majority people of color for the first time in history. The Cabinet is majority female for the first time in history. A majority of White House senior staff identify is female and a record 7 assistants to the president are LGBTQ+." pic.twitter.com/BLlEfrwO3E
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 23, 2023
“The Cabinet is majority people of color for the first time in history. The Cabinet is majority female for the first time in history,” Jean-Pierre touted. “A majority of White House senior staff identify as female. Forty percent of White House senior staff identify as part of the racially diverse communities. And a record seven assistants to the president are openly LGBTQ+. So again, this is something that the president prides himself on.”
This news was met with less-than-enthralled responses from the public, many of whom took to Twitter and questioned how any of of the staff’s intersectionality points were relevant to performing their jobs adequately.
“I’m confused,” one user said. “If we shouldn’t be judging people based on race, ethnicity, or gender, then why is the Biden Administration bragging and making hires + appointments based upon those characteristics?”
“Who needs effective when you have equity?” one user asked.
“Notice she doesn’t mention competency,” another added.
Later on, Jean-Pierre said farewell to two of the press staff’s team members, press assistant Megha Bhattacharya and Chief of Staff Robbie Dornbush.
This change follows an initial staff shift in June 2022, as three top staffers left the White House within a week.
Former assistant press secretary Vedant Patel left to serve as deputy spokesperson for the State Department, former chief of staff Amanda Finney is now the senior communications director at the Energy Department.
Mike Gwin, former deputy assistant secretary of public affairs left to join the Treasury Department. Shortly after, Jean-Pierre announced the departure of Michael Kikukawa, who also joined the Treasury Department.
High turnover is one of many chronic issues within the Biden administration.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s office has experienced a similar exodus. She has lost at least 13 staffers who held influential roles, including deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh, and chief of staff Tina Flournoy.
