Karine Jean-Pierre to be next White House press secretary

Karine Jean-Pierre will take over as President Biden’s next White House press secretary within weeks, replacing Jen Psaki who is set to leave the administration, the White House announced Thursday.
Jean-Pierre, who has served as Psaki’s top deputy since the start of the administration, will immediately become the public face of the Biden White House and the first Black person to hold the high-profile job of delivering the president’s daily message and fielding questions from an often skeptical press corps.She will assume the top spokesperson role at time when the president faces economic and political headwinds, six months before midterm elections where Democrats face an uphill battle. If Republicans retake the House, as many in both parties expect, Jean-Pierre could face numerous questions about GOP investigations into sensitive topics, although the White House counsel’s office is bringing in another communications expert, Ian Sams, to handle such inquiries. Jean-Pierre will play a central role in shaping the narrative of Biden’s presidency, an effort the president and his aides have conceded they have failed to do successfully. The president himself has voiced frustration that he has not been able to convey his accomplishments to the public in an effective way.
As press secretary, Jean-Pierre will be responsible for holding the daily press briefing at the White House and helping advise Biden and the broader administration on communication and messaging efforts.
She becomes the first Black and openly gay woman to serve as the White House press secretary. In May 2021, Jean-Pierre became the first Black woman in 30 years ago address the press in the White House briefing room when she filled in for Psaki, which she has since done on multiple occasions in the past year.