Frustration with the White House boiled over Wednesday as it announced the departure of Communications Director Kate Bedingfield.
The Wall Street Journal broke the story Wednesday afternoon, irking others who had sniffed out Bedingfield’s departure and were cooling their heels waiting for a White House comment that never came until after the story hit.
Bedingfield was President Joe Biden’s communications director when he was vice president in the Obama administration and was deputy campaign manager for communications during his 2020 campaign before being named White House communications director.
A White House news release on Wednesday said Bedingfield “will leave the White House in late July to spend more time with her husband and young children after more than 3 straight years of leading his communications team.”
As noted by Axios, her exit comes amid others in the White House communications team, including press secretary Jen Psaki, who left in May.
Another jumps sinking Biden ship …
Her exit comes on the heels of Jen Psaki’s decision to step down as press secretary
Bedingfield claims she wants to “spend more time with family,” which is Washington-speak for “I left before i could be scapegoated”https://t.co/PR9ciDTKCM
— Paul Sperry (@PaulSperry30) July 6, 2022
Coming as it does with Biden’s approval ratings sagging, the departure is big news about an administration that already appeared embattled. Accusations that the White House unfairly managed the story flowed on Twitter among media representatives.
Politico reporter Alex Thompson vented his displeasure on Twitter.
“I called the White House at 2:53pm to ask for comment and told them we were running it. They asked for more time to check with folks. I gave it to them. WSJ pubbed at 3:11pm with a statement from Klain,” Thompson tweeted, later adding, “good luck to the White House staffer who gets a 2 minute long deadline next time.”
good luck to the White House staffer who gets a 2 minute long deadline next time. https://t.co/sgI8ZT4fA1
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) July 6, 2022
Other media figures also chimed in.
Sounds like they need a new Comms director.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) July 6, 2022
if you’re a comms person, it’s not your job to run interference for news outlets that you prefer or that you’ve given the exclusive to… https://t.co/2LQEu9dNwx
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) July 6, 2022
“This sounds so familiar!” tweeted Washington Post White House reporter Tyler Pager.
“The White House does this All. The. Time,” Alex Ward, Politico national security reporter, said in response.
The White House does this All. The. Time. https://t.co/4eDAP0QSnB
— Alex Ward (@alexbward) July 6, 2022
CNN White House correspondent Kate Bennett called the incident “bad form.”
About two hours after his first post, Thompson shared a comment from White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain that appeared in the administration’s news release.
“Without Kate Bedingfield’s talent and tenacity, Donald Trump might still be in the White House, the Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Law might still be unrealized goals, and Ketanji Brown Jackson might not be sitting on the Supreme Court,” Klain said.
“She has played a huge role in everything the President has achieved – from his second term as Vice President, through the campaign, and since coming to the White House. Her strategic acumen, intense devotion to the President’s agenda, and fierce work on his behalf are unmatched,” he said. “She will continue to remain a critical player in moving the Biden agenda forward from the outside.”
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