Kamala Harris' Communications Director Resigns Amid Growing Criticism, Low Approval Ratings; White House Insists Attacks on VP are Partly Racism

Ashley Etienne, a longtime advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has been Vice President Kamala Harris' communications director since January 20, will leave next month.

In a letter to The Independent, a White House official confirmed her resignation, calling Etienne "a valuable member of the Vice President's team who has worked relentlessly to promote the aims of this administration."

Kamala Harris Comms Director resigns

Etienne's anticipated resignation, originally reported by Vanity Fair, comes amid a slew of recent negative stories for Kamala Harris, who apparently resented the portfolio handed to her by President Joe Biden's staff. The Vice President has served as the White House's lead person on the "root causes" of migration to the US-Mexico border and voting rights, two of the administration's most contentious topics and intractable difficulties.

Kamala Harris joined President Biden in signing a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure into law earlier this week. It was the first time the president and vice president had spoken at the same event in a long time, after White House officials tried to keep Harris out of Biden's photo ops after her repeated appearance alongside him - often to give statements of her own - drew media attention.

Per Washington Examiner, Etienne's resignation comes as recent surveys revealed that both Harris and President Joe Biden's popularity ratings had plummeted. According to a survey conducted by RealClearPolitics, Biden has a 42.3 percent approval rating, while Harris has a 40.2 percent approval rating. However, according to a USA Today/Suffolk University survey released on November 7, Biden has a 38 percent popularity rating, while Harris has a 28 percent approval rating.

White House believes Kamala Harris faces more criticism

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, stated on Wednesday that racism and sexism are at the foundation of harsh criticisms of Vice President Kamala Harris, and that President Biden's absence of press conferences is an issue for the media, not the American people.

Politico senior editor Anita Kumar questioned Psaki whether she believed Harris was facing greater criticism because she is the first woman and first woman of color to serve as vice president during a livestreamed event organized by Politico's Women Rule Exchange.

According to NY Post, after CNN reported earlier this week that the vice president has been increasingly marginalized inside the administration despite being charged with managing politically hazardous matters, Psaki has defended the relationship between Biden and Harris.

Psaki also addressed criticism of Biden for giving only a few formal news conferences ten months into his presidency, saying the criticism was "misunderstood," and that Biden prefers casual back-and-forth discussions with reporters at public events to convening a formal press conference.

Donald Trump gave one official news conference during his first year in office, according to the nonpartisan American Presidency Project, but answered questions from reporters 20 times at events. Biden has given six solo news conferences thus far in his administration, but has only fielded reporter questions at three other occasions.