Just weeks after the departure of his spokeswoman Jen Psaki, US President Joe Biden also lost his communications director Kate Bedingfield. The 40-year-old will leave her post at the end of July to spend more time with her husband and children, the White House said on Wednesday.
Bedingfield had worked for Biden for the past three years and organized his public relations work first during the campaign and then in the White House. She had also worked for the Democrats during Biden’s time as vice president.
“Without Kate Bedingfield’s talent and perseverance, Donald Trump might still be in the White House right now,” Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain said of the communications director’s departure. “She has played a huge role in everything the President has achieved.” From now on, Bedingfield will play an important role “from the outside” in advancing Biden’s agenda.
Bedingfield’s departure comes just months before the crucial midterm congressional elections in November — and amid a string of exits from those close to Biden. Biden’s spokeswoman Psaki only left the White House in May. Other employees from the public relations department have also recently given up their posts.
Meanwhile, Democrat politicians are increasingly frustrated by the president’s reticence in the face of domestic problems and setbacks, from the Supreme Court overturning a landmark abortion-rights ruling to a series of gun attacks and high inflation. Voices in the ruling party calling for a more combative president are getting louder. The Democratic Party is threatened with losing its majority in the Senate and House of Representatives in the fall elections.
