White House communications director Kate Bedingfield stepping down
Bedingfield is a longtime, loyal aide of President Biden
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden’s communications director Kate Bedingfield is departing the White House later this month, Fox News confirmed, and will continue to remain a "critical player in moving the Biden agenda forward from the outside."
A White House aide told Fox News that Bedingfield will depart at the end of the month to spend more time with her young children and her husband, who also is a veteran of the Biden administration and campaign.
The aide told Fox News that Bedingfield will help to support Biden and the Biden administration from the outside.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House press secretary Jen Psaki and communications director Kate Bedingfield wait for President Joe Biden to deliver remarks at the White House on May 13, 2021. Psaki left her post earlier this year; Bedingfield is due to depart soon. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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"Without Kate Bedingfield’s talent and tenacity, Donald Trump might still be in the White House, the Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Law might still be unrealized goals, and Kentaji Brown Jackson might not be sitting on the Supreme Court," White House chief of staff Ron Klain said. "She has played a huge role in everything the president has achieved – from his second term as vice president, through the campaign, and since coming to the White House."
"Her strategic acumen, intense devotion to the president’s agenda, and fierce work on his behalf are unmatched," Klain said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added: "She will continue to remain a critical player in moving the Biden agenda forward from the outside."
The White House communications director tested positive for COVID on April 29, 2022 (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
"From long before we launched the campaign, Kate Bedingfield was a fierce defender of the President and ensured that our message in 2020 and in the White House was consistent with his voice and principles," White House Senior Adviser Anita Dunn said in a statement. "Her leadership helped us tell the story about the fight Joe Biden is making for the working families of America."
Bedingfield is a longtime, loyal Biden adviser, according to the aide, who served as his communications director while he was vice president.
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Bedingfield also was deputy campaign manager for communications in the 2020 cycle, before becoming the White House communications director.
The White House said Bedingfield was integral to every major public relations effort while leading the White House Communications Department.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Communications director Kate Bedingfield speaks during a press briefing at the White House, March 30, 2022. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
Bedingfield’s departure comes after White House rapid response director Mike Gwin left the White House last month. Gwin is now at the Treasury Department as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs.
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Bedingfield's departure also comes after White House press secretary Jen Psaki left the administration in May for a role with MSNBC.