The White House has faced a slew of departures recently, with several top officials announcing at once that they are moving on after 18 months in the administration during a time when President Biden’s job approval rating continues to sink amid consistently poor marks politically.
While 18 months is typical for staff turnover in the White House, it comes at a perilous moment for Democrats ahead of crucial midterm elections.
“Given the complex challenges that the administration is facing, these departures are coming at an inopportune time,” said Democratic strategist Joel Payne.
Still, Payne added, “at this point in an administration, it is not abnormal to experience attrition.”
One senior administration official acknowledged that many aides are “tapped out.”
“It’s been a long few years,” the official said. “The burnout is real. It might not be the ideal time to leave with everything going on, but it’s the right time.”
The official explained the early summer months are considered the best time to leave, before midterms season begins. “And then you’re really locked in,” they added.
The departure of White House counsel Dana Remus, who is set to leave next month and be replaced by her top deputy Stuart Delery, was this week’s most major announcement. Remus oversaw the selection of Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court, as well as the filling of a slew of federal judicial seats while she served in her role, which is considered one of the most challenging jobs in the West Wing.
Her departure comes ahead of what is expected to be a GOP takeover of the closely split House and Senate chambers after November’s midterm election. The White House counsel’s office would be in the spotlight to respond to requests expected by Republican lawmakers, who are expected to lead probes into the administration.
Some see the host of departures as a precarious situation for the White House with a president facing consistently low approval numbers, increasingly high gas prices and stubborn inflation.
“It doesn’t look good,” said one Democratic strategist. “The perception from the outside is that it’s not the place you want to be. There’s a lot of finger-pointing going around right now. It doesn’t seem like it’s humming the way it should be.”
This is an excerpt from The Hill.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
