Jen Psaki stood before reporters in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room for the final time as White House press secretary Friday, thanking those gathered for making the country a better place through their journalism.
“I want to thank all of you in this room. You have challenged me, you have pushed me, you have debated me, and at times we have disagreed,” Psaki said through tears from the podium. “That is democracy in action. That is it working. Without accountability, without debate, government is not as strong, and you all play an incredibly pivotal role.
“Thank you for what you do. Thank you for making me better,” she added. “And most importantly, thank you for the work every day you do to make this country stronger. And I am very grateful to all of you as well”
It was a similar message to one she shared on her first day in the job, when she told reporters during the Biden administration’s first press briefing that she has a “deep respect for the role of a free and independent press in our democracy."
“There will be moments when we disagree, and there will certainly be days where we disagree for extensive parts of the briefing even perhaps, but we have a common goal, which is sharing accurate information with the American people,” Psaki said on Jan. 20, 2021.
The 43-year-old mother of two was known throughout her tenure for her so-called “Psaki-Bombs,” the fiery quips shot back at journalists in the White House Press Corps. Her briefings were professional and typically congenial, but could turn pointed in a hurry. The sessions were informative but generally lacked the drama to draw big ratings on cable television.
Psaki has answered reporters' questions nearly every weekday of the almost 500 days that Biden has been in office. As a top White House communicator, she is perhaps the administration's most public face after only the president and Vice President Kamala Harris. Her departure could complicate how Biden's message gets out at a critical time for him, at least in the short term.
Psaki on Friday also thanked President Biden and first lady Jill Biden for entrusting her with the top communications role in the White House, saying they all agreed on the “importance of returning integrity, respect and civility to the White House.”
Psaki has not denied reports she is heading to MSNBC, where on-air personalities are mostly sympathetic to Biden. Such a move will do little to alter perceptions of Psaki on the left or right. Democrats see her as a champion of their causes; conservatives say she is standoffish.
In a farewell message posted to the White House social media accounts, Psaki shared the two items she would like to take with her as her time as Biden’s press secretary comes to a close.
“These are notecards. They say ‘The White House’ at the top and I use them every day and I will miss them, but I may bring some home with me,” she shared. “The second item, I would say – I have a sweet tooth just like the president. There are chocolate chip cookies. There's also taffy from Delaware, and there's a big glass jar of it outside of the Oval Office. And I will say sometimes you just need a little sweet treat. I will miss that when I leave the White House.”
Succeeding Psaki is Karine Jean-Pierre, the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ person to be White House press secretary. She takes over as the administration is navigating inflation and Russia’s war with Ukraine, and as the Democratic Party is bracing for November election losses that could erase its control of Congress.
"I can't wait to see you bring your own style and brilliance to this job. ... Love you. I promise not to cry again, so that's it,” Psaki said of Jean-Pierre last week, adding on Friday: “As I said about Karine last week, these people are already the stars of the team, but they're going to be shining stars in the future, and I’ll miss them a lot.”
The White House says Jean-Pierre, who has been Psaki's chief deputy, will bring strong personal expertise and personality to the briefing room. She knows Biden well and has been a longtime adviser.
Jean-Pierre was born in Martinique, a French territory in the Caribbean, before moving to Queens Village in New York. She attended Kellenberg Memorial High School on Long Island before attending the New York Institute of Technology and Columbia University. After getting her master's at Columbia, she worked on the presidential campaigns of John Edwards and Barack Obama before going on to serve in the Obama Administration.
She later went on to work for Biden's successful presidential campaign in 2020 before being tapped as principal deputy press secretary. In May of last year, Jean-Pierre became the first openly gay person ever, and the first Black woman in decades, to lead a White House press briefing.
“She was able to multitask so much growing up and still be successful in what she wants to do,” Jean-Pierre’s younger brother, Christopher Jean-Pierre, said of his sibling’s work ethic in an interview with Spectrum News. “That's why when she got the position, I was so not just happy for her, but the government got an awesome person in that role.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.