Biden is having a little bit of trouble at the White House, according to Politico.
The outlet is reporting that the White House is seeing a mass exodus of black staffers.
At least 21 Black staffers have left the White House since late last year or are planning to leave soon. Some of those who remain say it's no wonder why: They describe a work environment with little support from their superiors and fewer chances for promotion.
The departures have been so pronounced that, according to one current and one former White House official, some Black aides have adopted a term for them: "Blaxit."
Black staffers at The White House see the job as a dead end.
That is astounding. Typically, the White House is where you want to end up as a political staffer, but just over a year into Biden's presidency they are seeing a "Blaxit."
(I suppose they called it a "Blaxit" instead of "Blexit" because Candace Owens already claimed that term.)
Biden's press secretary was asked about this situation, but Karine Jean-Pierre did not have an answer.
Although Jean-Pierre had no answer for the exodus of black staffers, I think Joe Biden has a message for any black staffers that are thinking about abandoning him:
The first big exit came in December, when Kamala Harris' senior adviser and chief spokesperson Symone Sanders announced she was leaving, ultimately for a gig at MSNBC. Since then, Harris senior aides Tina Flournoy, Ashley Etienne and Vincent Evans, and public engagement head Cedric Richmond have left.
Public engagement aide Carissa Smith, gender policy aide Kalisha Dessources Figures, National Security Council senior director Linda Etim, digital engagement director Cameron Trimble, associate counsel Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo, chief of staff Ron Klain advisers Elizabeth Wilkins and Niyat Mulugheta, press assistant Natalie Austin, National Economic Council aides Joelle Gamble and Connor Maxwell, and presidential personnel aides Danielle Okai, Reggie Greer and Rayshawn Dyson have all departed too. Deputy White House counsel Danielle Conley and Council of Economic Advisers aide Saharra Griffin are among others planning to leave in the coming weeks, according to White House officials.
I guess Biden's diversity plan just isn't working out.
Some "people have not had the best experiences and a lot of that has to do with the dearth of Black leadership," said one former White House official, who is Black. "Think about any workplace. Black folks need some person to go to, to strategize and be a mentor, and we just don't have as many folks who can be mentors to us."
Several Black staffers pointed to the departure of Richmond as a particularly difficult blow. A second, current Biden White House official described Richmond as a "big brother" and "the voice of those folks" whose departure has left people "a little nervous." A former Biden official who is Black said Richmond was "a nucleus" for Black staffers, and that there has been no one to fill the void similarly since he left.
"They brought in a ton of Black people generally to start without ever establishing an infrastructure to retain them or help them be successful," said the third current Black White House official. "If there is no clear infrastructure of how to be successful, you become just as invisible in this space than you would be if you were not in it."
It's almost like the Dems care about optics more than they do actual diversity...
Biden is doing his best to run off all of his black staffers, but the one he actually wants to leave is still sticking around.
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