CNN
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Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, is leaving the White House and is expected to play a role in President Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign.
Ben LaBolt, a top Democratic communications professional who served in the Obama White House, will replace Bedingfield as communications director, the White House said. LaBolt also worked with the Biden White House during the confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said Bedingfield has been “a critical strategic voice from the very first day of my presidential campaign in 2019.”
“Since my time as Vice President, Kate has been a loyal and trusted adviser, through thick and thin,” Biden said in a statement.
He added, “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. Ben has big shoes to fill. I look forward to welcoming him back as a first-rate communicator who’s shown his commitment to public service again and again, and who has a cutting-edge understanding of how Americans consume information.”
Bedingfield had previously announced last summer that she would leave the administration, but later reversed her decision, remaining in the post for several more months.
One source familiar with her thinking said that Bedingfield’s initial decision to leave had much to do with feeling burnt out and exhausted – but that now she is “ready in a way she wasn’t last time” to depart the Biden White House.
It also felt like a natural time to exit given other major changes in the West Wing, including former chief of staff Ron Klain’s departure this week. Klain was replaced by Jeff Zients. Bedingfield is expected to be a consultant to Biden’s anticipated reelection campaign.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
