Biden promotes Karine Jean-Pierre to senior adviser despite struggles as press secretary
WASHINGTON —President Biden has promoted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to serve as a senior adviser during his final three months in office — despite internal concern about Jean-Pierre’s performance, which resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to coax her to step aside.Jean-Pierre’s new position was held by highly influential figures credited with significant policy contributions under past presidents — including Jared Kushner (Donald Trump), David Axelrod (Barack Obama) and Karl Rove (George W.Bush).“Karine has been a trusted adviser to the President and all of us here at the White House since day one.
Her counsel will be critical to get as much done as possible for the American people in the coming months,” White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told ABC News, which reported the promotion Monday.The new title likely does not include a pay raise — as Jean-Pierre, 50, already earned $180,000 per year, the same as current senior advisers.Jean-Pierre also will have no known changes in job responsibilities, as she will continue to serve as press secretary.The senior adviser honorifics “mean nothing and are a joke,” a former Biden White House official told The Post.Journalists are broadly scornful of Jean-Pierre’s performance as chief White House spokesperson, noting she rarely is responsive to questions at her regular briefings — often tilting her head down to haltingly read prepared answers.Many reporters see the promotion as the latest in a series of episodes resembling the plot of “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the folk tale in which courtiers refrain from questioning a bumbling leader’s ineptitude.Former Biden senior adviser Anita Dunn, then de facto leader of White House communications strategy, led a shadowy effort last year to remove Jean-Pierre, the first non-white and first openly LGBT press secretary — viewing her as a poor spokesperson for Biden’s since-aborted re-election campaign.Dunn, who left the White Ho...