President Biden’s press office chief of staff Amanda Finney (pictured) exits the west wing amid reports of an “exodus of black staffers” from the White House
White House Press Office chief of staff Amanda Finney is leaving the West Wing on the day after a damning report suggests there is a “blaxit” with black staffers leaving the administration en masse.
Finney is moving to the Department of Energy to take on a senior communications post after the departure of her boss, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
“Amanda is a brilliant leader whose skills have strengthened our team since the early days of administration,” President Joe Biden’s new press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said in a statement to Bloomberg about her departure.
‘We call her ‘Mayor Finney’ for a reason – her passion, dedication and insight drive our team forward and have been critical to our success.’
Jean-Pierre has yet to name anyone to fill Finney’s previous role.
Biden’s pressing plant is facing a major turnover, and a number of junior assistants are expected to leave for higher-level positions in the federal government in the coming weeks.
It all follows Psaki’s departure last month.
The turnover comes amid reports of an exodus of black employees – at least 21, according to a Tuesday report – due to the lack of advancement opportunities and low pay.
Finney will serve as Energy’s associate director of public affairs, leading a team of nearly two dozen communications aides for the department.
“Amanda is just indispensable and irreplaceable, and I’m so grateful to have had her by my side every day during my tenure as press secretary,” Psaki said of Finney. “I have no doubt that in her next chapter she will continue to blow the socks off everyone she works with.”
Finney’s departure comes just weeks after former White House press secretary Jen Psaki (pictured May 25 on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show) left her post and the White House prepared for a major shakeup at the press office with a series of prepared for departures
Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said: “She keeps the trains moving and juggles the chaos with grace and shrewdness.”
Nearly two dozen Black White House staffers have left the administration since late 2021 or plan to leave soon due to an unsupportive work environment and few advancement opportunities.
A former White House official told Politico in a Tuesday report that the remarkable number of black staff departures has led some aides to refer to it as a “blaxit” or “black exit.”
“We’re here doing a lot of work, but we’re not decision-makers and there’s no real way to become decision-makers,” a current black White House official said, according to the report. “There is no real feedback and there is no clear path to any promotions.”
Another black worker said low wages are causing many minority workers to leave, especially in a city with one of the highest costs of living in the country.
“Pay in the White House hasn’t traditionally been very good, and many black people in these roles are not from wealthy families,” the White House official said.
Starting salaries in the White House start at $48,000.
The first notable exit from this “Blaxit” movement came in December 2021, when Vice President Kamala Harris’ chief spokesperson, Symone Sanders, announced her departure. She ended up on MSNBC, where her self-titled show debuts May 7th.
In the weeks and months following early 2022, Harris’ senior associates Tina Flournoy, Ashley Etienne and Vincent Evans all left the company — as did their head of public engagement, Cedric Richmond.
Including departures that began late last year, at least 21 black staffers have now either left the White House or plan to do so in the coming weeks and months.
The White House is having a hard time retaining black staff, and some are calling the recent departure of 21 black White House staffers a “blaxit.” Pictured: President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30
The exodus began in December 2021 with Harris’ chief announcer Symone Sanders (left) landing on MSNBC with her own show. Her public engagement director, Cedric Richmond (right), also resigned, which hit some black staffers particularly hard, as they described Richmond as a “big brother,” “voice of the people,” and “core” for black workers
Black staffers who have left the White House in the past five months include public engagement staffer Carissa Smith; gender policy advisor Kalisha Dessources Figures; Linda Etim, Executive Director of the National Security Council; Cameron Trimble, Director of Digital Engagement; and Associate Counsel Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo.
Also among the departures are Chief of Staff Ron Klain’s advisers Elizabeth Wilkins and Niyat Mulughetal; Press Assistant Natalie Austin; National Economic Council aides Joelle Gamble and Connor Maxwell; and Assistants to the Presidential Staff Danielle Okai, Reggie Greer and Rayshawn Dyson.
Other black administrative employees looking to leave in the coming weeks include Assistant White House Attorney Danielle Conley and Council of Economic Advisers Advisor Saharra Griffin, according to the Politico report.
Some employees left the company on good terms, including for other administrative jobs and graduate schools, while others said they wanted to refocus after years in a strained work environment with little free time or managerial support.
In the early weeks and months of 2022, Harris’ senior advisers Tina Flournoy, Ashley Etienne and Vincent Evans (pictured right) all left the company — as did their head of public engagement, Cedric Richmond
Harris’ former chief of staff Tina Flournoy (left) and her ex-director of communications Ashley Etienne both left the White House after Sanders
“I’ve worked for both the president and vice president throughout the campaign cycle and considered the opportunity to serve the American people at the Biden-Harris White House an honor,” Austin said upon her departure.
“I loved my press team experience and left because I wanted to spend more time with my family after nearly three years of campaigning and government work.”
Many black White House staffers said Richmond’s departure was particularly difficult for them.
They described Harris’ former aide as a “big brother,” “the voice of the people,” and a “core” to black associates. His departure, they added, made people “a little nervous.”
“They generally brought in a lot of Black people to get started without ever building any infrastructure to keep them or help them thrive,” said a Black White House official. “If there’s no clear infrastructure for how to be successful, you become just as invisible in this space as you would be if you weren’t in it.”
Richmond, now a senior adviser to the Democratic National Committee, told Politico that the White House gives young black employees more responsibility than other administrations and that many would do so for higher-paying jobs.
“A lot of people were at that grind [for a while] and it is a hard meal [so] a slowdown in the pace of work and a better salary will become more attractive,” he said. “For young African-American employees who can earn these kinds of salaries, not only is their plight changing, but that of their families as well.”
The exodus of black employees had raised concerns among those pushing for diversification in government positions.
“I have heard of an exodus of black staffers from the White House – ‘Blaxit’ – and am concerned,” Spencer Overton, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, told Politico.
Recently, Karine Jean-Pierre (pictured May 26, 2022) replaced Jen Psaki as White House press secretary – she is the first Black and LGBTQ person to serve in the position
The president of the group that tracks the number of employees in government added, “Black voters made up 22 percent of President Biden’s voters in November 2020.”
“It is important that Black employees are not only recruited to senior, middle and junior positions in the White House, but also have a say in key policy and personnel decisions and opportunities for advancement.”
A White House official dismissed the criticism, claiming that 14 percent of Biden and Harris’ current employees are black, consistent with the 13.4 percent of America’s black population.
Biden’s new press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said: “The President is incredibly proud to have built what remains the most diverse White House staff in history, and he is committed to continuing the historic representation of Black staff and all communities .”
“This is a normal time for turnover across the board in any administration, and black employees have been promoted more frequently than employees who are not diverse,” she added.