White House communications director Kate Bedingfield is stepping down from her position, according to the Biden administration’s chief of staff.
“Her strategic acumen, intense devotion to the President’s agenda, and fierce work on his behalf are unmatched,” said White House chief of staff Ron Klain. “She will continue to remain a critical player in the Biden agenda forward from the outside.”
The White House statement said that Bedingfield is leaving to “spend more time with her husband and young children.”
“In the White House, Bedingfield continued as the President’s top communications aide and was similarly integral to every major public relations effort while leading the White House Communications Department, ensuring that each part of the team was working to deliver the President’s message and advocate for his agenda,” the statement said.
Several weeks ago, Jen Psaki, President Joe Biden’s first press secretary, left the White House and was replaced by Karine Jean-Pierre. Psaki is reportedly slated to join cable channel MSNBC, according to an announcement earlier this year.
Cedric Richmond, a former congressman from Louisiana, had led Biden’s Office of Public Engagement, but he recently left the White House to work with the Democratic National Committee. He was replaced by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
In a statement last week, Dunn told news outlets that Bedingfield “ensured that our message in 2020 and in the White House was consistent with his voice and principles,” and asserted she would “always be a core member of this family, even as she takes a little time to put her own family first.”
Her departure also comes after White House rapid response director Mike Gwin left in June. Gwin is now at the Treasury Department’s public affairs division.