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White House communications director Kate Bedingfield will depart her position later this month, the White House said on Wednesday.
“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 Kentaji Brown Jackson might not be sitting on the Supreme Court,” White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said in a statement.
“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," Klain added. "She will continue to remain a critical player in moving the Biden agenda forward from the outside.”
Bedingfield first joined Biden’s orbit in 2015, just as he was nearing a final decision about whether to run for president in the 2016 race. After leaving the vice presidency in 2017, Bedingfield remained a key adviser in guiding his eventual return to the political scene, and was also the communications director for his successful 2020 campaign.
Bedingfield was in the running to be White House press secretary but ultimately continued in the role as communications director in the White House. She did have a brief stint at the podium in March when then-press secretary Jen Psaki was among those battling COVID-19.