Recent reports have suggested growing turmoil within President Joe Biden’s White House, likely attributable to plummeting approval numbers, an inability to get the president’s agenda passed through Congress, and alleged infighting between Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ camps.
Those reports may well have been bolstered by the sudden revelation that a top White House official will soon be abandoning the West Wing for another job in the federal government, Newsmax reported.
This is the second high-level departure from the Biden administration in less than a week.
Top staffer out
That official is Emma Riley, chief of staff of the White House communications team, who will reportedly be taking on a similar role at the Department of Labor in the coming weeks.
“It was an honor and privilege to serve @POTUS and the American people at the @WhiteHouse,” Riley wrote in a tweet posted Friday.
“I’m excited to be moving down Pennsylvania Ave. and traveling around the country with @SecMartyWalsh and @USDOL,” she added.
Harris aide resigning
Fox News reported that the announcement from Riley came just days after a similar announcement had been made about the impending departure of Ashley Etienne, the communications director for Vice President Harris’ East Wing office.
“Ashley is a valued member of the Vice President’s team, who has worked tirelessly to advance the goals of this administration,” an unnamed White House official told Fox. “She is leaving the office in December to pursue other opportunities.”
It is unclear at this point what those “other opportunities” might be, and whether her next job will be in another role as a taxpayer-funded government functionary or in the private sector.
Fox noted that prior to joining the Harris’ team, Etienne had twice served as communications director for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), with a stint in the Obama White House as well.
White House chaos?
Meanwhile, Fox noted that both of these departures follow close on the heels of reports of frustration and suspicions emanating from both the Biden and Harris camps against each other, suggesting all is not well within the administration despite the smiling faces and positive spin displayed for public consumption.
But as the continually declining poll numbers for Biden and Harris suggest, there is no amount of spin that can disguise how disgruntled a growing portion of the American people have become with the administration, many of whom would be happy to hear that all current residents and staffers of the White House are moving on to different gigs.
The post White House comms team chief of staff resigns, announces new job at Labor Department first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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