It’s been over two years since the Biden administration took office, so these staff shake-ups aren’t new. It’s routine for top staffers to leave after 18 months or so for more lucrative opportunities in the private sector, including book deals. This isn’t like the West Wing, where Allison Janney’s character C.J. Cregg remained White House Press Secretary for years. One would need to be institutionalized if this were to happen in real life.
With White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain heading for the exits, communications director Kate Bedingfield is also giving her notice. It's for real this time; Bedingfield was set to leave last summer but decided against it (via Fox News):
The White House on Friday announced that President Biden's communications director Kate Bedingfield, who has been with the president since his 2021 inauguration, will step down at the end of this month.
Bedingfield will be succeeded by Ben LaBolt, a former adviser to President Barack Obama and current strategist for the communications agency Bully Pulpit Interactive.
Prior to serving as White House communications director, Bedingfield worked as then-Vice President Biden's communications director in 2015-2016, and then found a role on his successful 2020 presidential campaign as deputy campaign manager.
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Before working for Biden, Bedingfield served in the Obama White House as associate communications director, deputy director of media affairs, and director of rapid response.
It is tempting to insinuate that rats are leaving a sinking ship, and if the Democrats got rolled in the 2022 midterms, maybe you could make that joke. But this is just the typical staff turnover you see two years into an administration. So, don’t be shocked if you see Ms. Bedingfield as the newest contributor to CNN or MSNBC in the future, or she could go back to the Motion Picture Association of America. Who knows. Being on a winning presidential campaign in this position affords you many opportunities.
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