VP Kamala Harris Chief Spokeswoman Symone Sanders Is Out, Follows Communications Director Out The Door. Photo: Senior adviser Symone Sanders applauds during a campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, Jan. 27, 2020, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Vice President Kamala Harris is losing staff members left and right. The latest departure is Symone Sanders, the VP’s chief spokesperson and senior adviser, who turned in her resignation and is leaving the White House at the end of 2021.
The news follows a barrage of media reports, including a massive CNN investigation about turmoil within the vice president’s office and tension between Harris and the West Wing. Some staff members seem to be heading for the exit door of the first female vice president and the first Black and South Asian American to hold the office.
In October, Ashley Etienne, Harris’ communications director, announced she would leave her role to “pursue other opportunities,” USA Today reported. Before joining the Harris’ team, Etienne served as communications director for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and worked in the Obama administration.
Peter Velz, who is Harris’s director of press operations, and Vince Evans, the deputy director of the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for Harris, are planning to leave those positions, The Hill reported.
But Sanders is the highest-profile exit to date. She has been a prominent surrogate for Democrats since the 2020 presidential campaign when she worked for then-candidate Joe Biden.
Sanders has come under fire in the past for being loyal to Biden, despite his prior history of supporting mass incarceration.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki dismissed the idea that Sanders’ departure was the result of Harris’ dissatisfaction with her staff and noted that Sanders had been part of the Biden team for several years, including her time on the campaign.
“It’s natural for staffers who have thrown their heart and soul into a job to be ready to move on to a new challenge after a few years,” she said. “She’ll always be a part of this Biden-Harris family.”
“was it worth it” neverlearned2swim @DebDirtylooks asked Sanders via tweet.
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