Press Secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged Thursday that President Joe Biden answering questions from reporters outside of the formal setting of a White House press briefing is not something they advise. Psaki is known for extending her regular briefings, but she has no intentions to stay in her influential role until 2022.
Jen Psaki reveals she plans to step down next year
"I believe it would be time for someone else to have this work in a year or about a year," she told former White House and Obama campaign colleague David Axelrod on his podcast, Axe Files.
Psaki, who has two young children, has worked in high-pressure positions before, including as deputy communications director and later as State Department spokesperson under the Obama administration.
The long-time congressional and campaign aide has attempted to reinstate certain pre-Trump administration practices, such as giving regular press briefings. She swatted down the media on occasion but has spared the fake news threats perpetrated by some of her predecessors.
After what she referred to as a Game of Thrones era, she began her position by reaffirming and restating the role of government, as per Daily Mail. According to Psaki, President Joe Biden's aides have not always effectively kept him from answering reporters' questions. Biden answers questions during speaking events at the White House, although he has never held a formal briefing.
She stressed the importance of discussing agencies' roles, legislative strategies, and how a bill becomes a law. The White House Secretary has steadfastly refused to be persuaded to comment on Justice Department issues, for example.
She takes Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen into the briefing room on Friday, despite avoiding attempts to get her to speak about interest rates from the podium. Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden's deputy press secretary, accompanied him to New Orleans on Friday.
Biden was advised not to take questions
During her response, Psaki said that she and her team had realized that "we're never going to fulfill the White House Press Corps and their demands for access, and I believe there have been mistakes made in the past in trying to do so," NY Post reported. Although Biden has had several informal media encounters, he has only had one formal press conference on March 25. Psaki, married to Greg Mecher and has two children, told Axelrod that she plans to leave her current position in 2022.
Psaki mentioned that she enjoys her work and that she was not announcing that something had gone wrong. She said that she had always intended to quit her post after a year or two and that she had told President Biden as much when he first offered her the role.
The job of White House press secretary is often thankless, as exhausting and fast-paced as the current news cycle. Throughout their presidency, most administrations have more than one press secretary. Donald Trump, for example, had four during his first term.
The White House Press Secretary has already made a name for herself as Mr. Biden's spokeswoman, with her polite and professional demeanor. White House reporters, who are notorious for being difficult to please, have lately found themselves in the unusual position of praising her, as per The Independent.
