State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki stands in on a meeting in Washington, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female communications team at his White House, led by campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield. Jen Psaki will be his press secretary. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
By Alexandra Jaffe and Andrew Taylor
President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female senior communications team at his White House, reflecting his stated desire to build out a diverse White House team as well as what’s expected to be a return to a more traditional press operation.
Biden campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield will serve as Biden’s White House communications director. Jen Psaki, a longtime Democratic spokeswoman, will be his press secretary.
Four of the seven top communications roles at the White House will be filled by women of color, and it’s the first time the entire senior White House communications team will be entirely female.
President Donald Trump upended the ways in which his administration communicated with the press. In contrast with administrations past, Trump’s communications team held few press briefings, and those that did occur were often combative affairs riddled with inaccuracies and falsehoods.
Trump himself sometimes served as his own press secretary, taking questions from the media, and he often bypassed the White House press corps entirely by dialing into his favorite Fox News shows.
In a statement announcing the White House communications team, Biden said: “Communicating directly and truthfully to the American people is one of the most important duties of a President, and this team will be entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of connecting the American people to the White House.”
He added: “These qualified, experienced communicators bring diverse perspectives to their work and a shared commitment to building this country back better.”
Bedingfield and Psaki are veterans of the Obama administration. Bedingfield served as communications director for Biden while he was vice president, and Psaki was a White House communications director and a spokesperson at the State Department.
Others joining the White House communications staff are:
— Karine Jean Pierre, who was Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ chief of staff, will serve as a principal deputy press secretary for the president-elect. She’s another Obama administration alum, having served as a regional political director for the White House office of political affairs.
— Pili Tobar, who was communications director for coalitions on Biden’s campaign, will be his deputy White House communications director. She most recently was deputy director for America’s Voice, an immigration reform advocacy group, and was a press staffer for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Three Biden campaign senior advisers are being appointed to top communications roles:
— Ashley Etienne, a former communications director for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will serve as Harris’ communications director.
— Symone Sanders, another senior adviser on the Biden campaign, will be Harris’ senior adviser and chief spokesperson.
— Elizabeth Alexander, who served as the former vice president’s press secretary and his communications director while he was a U.S. senator from Delaware, will serve as Jill Biden’s communications director.
After his campaign went virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic, Biden faced some of his own criticism for not being accessible to reporters. But near the end of the campaign, he answered questions from the press more frequently, and his transition team has held weekly briefings since he was elected president.
The choice of a number of Obama administration veterans — many with deep relationships with the Washington press corps — also suggests a return to a more congenial relationship with the press.
Joe Kennedy III, a former congressman and co-founder of Give Us the Ballot, joined Cheddar News to discuss voting protections in the United States and how his campaign is aiming to fix the issue of voter suppression. "Yes, redistricting is critical — Give Us the Ballot though recognizes it's 'redistricting, and —', because voting rights has an implication for every single election at every single level: school board, mayor, city council, House of Representatives, Senate, president," he said. Kennedy also gave his thoughts about the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer.
Big Apple workers who deliver for food apps like Doordash and Grubhub will now receive a number of legal protections provided through a package of new regulations that have started going into effect. These updated rules include more control over their deliveries, pay and tip transparency, a higher minimum pay rate, and access to restaurant bathrooms during the workday. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joined Cheddar to elaborate on the regulations and how the platform holders reacted. "I have to say it's a mixed bag," he said. "Grubhub actually welcomed the legislation and said they recognize they need to do better by their deliveristas, but DoorDash, unfortunately, has actually been pushing back against the legislation."
Thomas Hoenig, Former CEO of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and currently Distinguished Senior Fellow with the Mercatus Center, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the Fed's decision was no surprise, but believes the Fed is behind the curve on raising rates.
Legal cannabis businesses are having a hard time surviving in California with the high cost of doing business and a still-thriving illicit market. In response, nonprofit Supernova Women, founded by women of color, is advocating on behalf of Black and brown shareholders in the cannabis industry. Amber Senter, co-founder, executive director, and chairman of the organization, spoke with Cheddar News about calling for changes in the Golden State's taxation system for legal marijuana. "We're really leaning on the legislators now to support the industry and make sure that this industry, in particular craft cannabis, can survive," said Senter.
After being among the hardest-hit industries by the pandemic, restaurants are still having a hard time staying afloat, with owners claiming that business is worse now due to closures from staff shortages and customer decline than it was three months ago. Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, spoke to Cheddar News about how the sector is reaching out to lawmakers for help. "Working with Senators Wicker, Sinema, and a whole host of bipartisan leaders, we're trying to get the Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished," Whatley said.
Communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and continuously feel the impacts. Mark Magaña, founding president and CEO of Green Latinos joined All Hands to discuss.
The memoir, "COMPROMISED: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump", tells a familiar story from a bit of a different source: Peter Strzok himself, former FBI Counterintelligence Agents and Agency Veteran who spent most of his very long career investigating some of the most controversial inquiries, most notably in recent American history. Those inquiries were Hillary Clinton's email to even Trump Russia investigations. Former FBI Agent and Author of "Compromised" Peter Strzok, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
