Haitian-American Karine Jean-Pierre has been named principal deputy press secretary in the White House for the incoming Joe Biden administration, the Biden transition team announced Sunday.
She will be part of an all-woman senior communications team, The Washington Post reports, noting, “It is the first time all of the top aides tasked with speaking on behalf of an administration and shaping its message will be female.”
Jean-Pierre released a statement on Twitter following the announcement that read: “I am profoundly honored to be the Principal Deputy Press Secretary for Joe Biden. I am especially thrilled to work alongside Jen Psaki [appointed as White House Press Secretary] whose leadership and stellar instincts will ensure we are positioned to effectively communicate the Biden-Harris agenda to all Americans.”
During the presidential campaign, Jean-Pierre was a senior adviser and then chief of staff to Kamala Harris, making her the first Black person to hold that position for a vice-presidential nominee. She was also the first member of the LGBTQ+ community in that position.
She had previously been a staffer in President Barack Obama’s administration and in his reelection campaign.
Jean-Pierre was born in Martinique to Haitian immigrant parents but raised in New York. During the campaign, she pushed for the Caribbean-American, especially the Haitian-American, vote, and was an unofficial spokesperson on immigration.
While in South Florida in September, Jean-Pierre promised immigrant families that Joe Biden was in support of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) policy that was terminated by the Trump administration.
