White House announces staffing changes in press operation

The White House on Thursday announced a trio of staffing changes in the press office as the administration prepares for the final stretch before the midterm elections.

Olivia Dalton will join the West Wing to serve as principal deputy press secretary, a role that has been vacant since May when Karine Jean-Pierre was elevated to White House press secretary.

Dalton will come to the White House from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where she served as spokesperson. She also recently led communications efforts for the resettlement of Afghan refugees after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Dalton previously worked on the transition team for the Biden administration, and she worked for President Biden when he was serving as a senator.

The White House also announced Kate Berner will be promoted from deputy communications director to principal deputy communications director. Berner has worked sporadically for Biden since 2012, and she was viewed as a possible replacement for communications director Kate Bedingfield when Bedingfield briefly planned to step down before changing her mind.

Berner’s old role will be filled by Herbie Ziskend, who currently works in Vice President Harris’s office and previously worked with Biden during his first term as vice president.

“We are so lucky to have these three incredibly talented people on our team,” Bedingfield tweeted. “They are stars who have played pivotal roles on Team Biden-Harris going back many years and will be critical voices moving forward. Huge congrats to Olivia, Herbie and Kate — so well-deserved.”

The new staff members cap off months of changes within the White House communications operation that started in May with the departure of former press secretary Jen Psaki. Since then, roughly a half dozen press staffers have departed the White House, most of them for other jobs in the administration.

Jean-Pierre was elevated to press secretary, and John Kirby came to the White House from the Pentagon to serve as national security spokesman

For his part, Biden has largely avoided media interviews throughout the summer, staying out of the spotlight as key pieces of his agenda made it through Congress. He is set to attend a rally on Thursday night with the Democratic National Committee, his first political event in weeks.