White House communications director Kate Bedingfield speaks at a daily press briefing. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director since President Biden's inauguration, will leave her position by the end of the month, the White House announced Friday.
Why it matters: Bedingfield is the latest member of Biden's team who plans to exit the White House ahead of the president's expected 2024 campaign launch.
Driving the news: Bedingfield will leave her post at the end of February, the White House said. Ben LaBolt, a former adviser to President Obama, is slated to replace her.
- LaBolt will be the first openly gay White House communications director, according to the Biden administration. He spent time in the private sector after the Obama administration, co-founding a media agency with former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs that ultimately became Bully Pulpit Interactive, the Washington Post reports.
- Bedingfield served as Biden's communications director from 2015 to 2016 when he was vice president, and then as the deputy campaign manager for his 2020 presidential bid.
- She was expected to leave the White House last July, but ultimately pushed back her departure.
What they're saying: President Biden said in a statement that Bedingfield was "a loyal and trusted adviser, through thick and thin."
- "The country is better off as a result of her hard work and I’m so grateful to her — and to her husband and two young children — for giving so much," Biden said.
Zoom out: White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and top economic adviser Brian Deese are among others who have recently left Biden's staff.
- Zach Butterworth, Biden's private sector liaison, is on the way out, too.