Failing Up: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Promoted

Top aides to President Joe Biden promoted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to senior adviser to the president on Monday.

The promotion suggests some in the White House are eager to replace Karine Jean-Pierre as press secretary. 

The press, which widely criticized Jean-Pierre as a poor communicator, reported last year that White House aides failed in a purported attempt to boot Jean-Pierre from the position in light of what some consider her poor job performance. She is the first black woman and the first openly gay person to hold the title of press secretary.

Jean-Pierre’s new position as senior adviser to the president will include press duties until Biden leaves office, ABC News reported:

Jean-Pierre will now be alongside the ranks of the president’s top confidantes like senior advisers Mike Donilon, Steve Richetti and Bruce Reed. A White House official said that her promotion shows the faith that Biden has in her, as well as his commitment to having diverse and inter-generational voices guiding him in his decisions.

Jean-Pierre will begin her new role effective immediately. She will also maintain her press secretary duties through the end of Biden’s administration, the first press secretary in decades to also hold the title of senior adviser.

The move also shows the increased influence of the communications and press operations in the Biden White House. When former senior adviser Anita Dunn left her role, Communications Director Ben LaBolt was promoted to senior adviser.

“Karine has been a trusted advisor to the President and all of us here at the White House since day one. Her counsel will be critical to get as much done as possible for the American people in the coming months,” Jeff Zients, the president’s chief of staff, said in a statement.

The White House had denied the report that top aides tried to oust Jean-Pierre from her position. Infighting and “tension” reportedly exist between Jean-Pierre and the National Security Council’s John Kirby about how much time each is allotted to provide the establishment media with canned public relations remarks during press briefings, Axios previously reported.

Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.