Susan Rice to step down as Biden domestic policy adviser

President Biden announced on Monday that his domestic policy adviser, Susan Rice, will step down from her role.

Rice, who has been in the role since the beginning of the administration, handled politically charged issues from gun violence to student loans in her portfolio. Biden praised her in a statement, saying, “there is no one more capable, and more determined to get important things done for the American people than Susan Rice.”

“[W]hat sets her apart as a leader and colleague is the seriousness with which she takes her role and the urgency and tenacity she brings, her bias towards action and results, and the integrity, humility and humor with which she does this work,” Biden said on Monday, adding, “I will miss her.”

The president did not say when her last day will be but NBC reported she plans to leave the White House on May 26.

The news of her departure was announced as Biden is finally ready to launch into campaign mode and is expected to make a reelection announcement as soon as Tuesday. 

Her also departure comes amid controversy over the administration’s handling of immigration and the crisis at the southern border and just a few months after the new chief of staff Jeff Zients took that role. Rice and Zients have known each other since high school, according to NBC. 

Rice was national security adviser and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama administration. Biden, in his statement, mentioned her background in foreign policy, saying it was surprising to people when he first named Rice for the top domestic role. 

He noted she is the only person to be both national security adviser and domestic policy adviser.

Biden thanked her for her work expanding the Affordable Care Act, working on a national mental health strategy, capping the cost of insulin at $35, working to reduce gun violence, advancing police reform, finding new approaches to marijuana, providing student debt relief, and working on the immigration system, among other issues.

“The list goes on, and would not have been possible without Susan,” he said.

Updated 9:33 a.m.