President Biden has named Karine Jean-Pierre as the next White House Press Secretary. She will become the first Black person and out LGBTQ+ person to serve in the position.
Jean-Pierre, who is currently the Principal Deputy Press Secretary and Deputy Assistant to the President, will assume her new job on May 13. She will replace departing Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
“I am proud to announce that Karine Jean-Pierre will serve as the next White House Press Secretary,” Biden said in a statement issued Thursday. “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.”
Jean-Pierre, an out lesbian, has worked with Biden since he was Vice-President in the Obama Administration, which she joined in 2008. During the 2020 campaign, she was named as chief of staff to then vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, making her the first Black person to serve in the position.
Last May, she became the second-only Black woman, and the first openly gay woman, to address reporters from the White House briefing room.
“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.
He also praised Psaki, who is leaving the Administration for a job at MSNBC, thanking her “for her service to the country” and “for returning decency, respect, and decorum to the White House Briefing Room.”
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