Following reports that she is soon to depart the White House for a career in cable news, press secretary Jen Psaki faced reporters on Friday afternoon and said she had nothing to confirm about her continued public service or what plans she may have.
Ms Psaki has just returned from isolating at home with Covid-19.
Asked by Ed O’Keeffe of CBS News about reporting that she is to take a role with MSNBC as soon as next month, Ms Psaki joked: “Well, you can’t get rid of me yet, Ed.”
She then continued: “I have nothing to confirm about my length of public service or planned service or anything about consideration about next plans.”
Reaffirming her commitment to focussing on her role answering questions for President Joe Biden, she added: “I hope that I meet my own bar of treating everybody with fairness and being equitable.”
Further challenged as to whether it is ethical for her to carry out her current job while negotiating with a media outlet, Ms Psaki said: “Well, I have always gone over and above the stringent ethical and legal requirements.”
She added that she takes that very seriously and has received rigorous ethics counselling as per White House rules.
Commenting further on her tenure as press secretary, she said that she hoped all of the press corps would judge her for my record and how she treats them in the briefing room and otherwise.
“I do my best and I will continue to do that,” Ms Psaki added.
The press corps was not going to let the issue go quite yet, and NBC News’ Kristen Welker — potentially a future colleague of Ms Psaki if reporting is correct — asked how she could be an effective briefer if she is negotiating with media outlets.
She answered that she has nothing announce and that when she does step away from the White House there would be a period of sleep and spending time with her children, but reiterated her compliance with ethics standards to ensure no conflict of interest.
“I understand what you’re saying,” said Ms Welker. “But ... how is it ethical to have these conversations with media outlets while you continue to have a job standing behind that podium?”
Said Ms Psaki: “There are a range of stringent ethical and legal requirements that are imposed on everybody in this administration and administrations past about conversations you’re having with future employers … I have abided by those and tried to take steps to go beyond them as well.”
Ms Welker followed up: “Broadly speaking, is it the policy of this White House to have staffers have discussions even if indirectly with institutions that impact and affect their jobs and your job here?”
“It is the policy of this White House to ensure that anyone who is having conversations about future employment does so with consultation through the White House counsel’s office, ensuring they abide by any ethical and legal requirements,” said Ms Psaki. “Those are conversations I have taken very seriously and abided by every component of.”
Axios reported on Friday morning that Ms Psaki is in talks to join MSNBC and appear across a number of shows while also starting her own on the Peacock streaming platform.
She will not be replacing Rachel Maddow on the 9pm hour on MSNBC as has been speculated.
According to Axios’ reporting Ms Psaki has been in close consultation with the White House counsel’s office about her departure due to the ethical and legal stipulations about how public employees can seek private sector employment while still in office.
Ms Psaki is said to be planning to leave in May, but contracts have yet to be signed.
Citing two sources, the report says that some senior officials at the White House are aware of her departure and plans with MSNBC, though no formal announcement has been made internally.
For its part, MSNBC has similarly been working with its compliance lawyers to make sure their conversations didn’t violate any federal government regulations.
The Independent has contacted MSNBC for comment.
Ms Psaki said in the first months of the Biden administration that “it’s going to be time for somebody else to have this job in a year from now”. She has now been in the role for almost 15 months.
Speaking to former Obama administration colleague David Axelrod in an interview on his podcast in May 2021 she said that it was a great job and would be hard to leave, but she wants to spend time with her children.
Ms Psaki is potentially following a well-worn path of White House officials, including Mr Axelrod, by heading to cable news. He joined CNN, Trump spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany joined Fox News, and Bush official Nicole Wallace hosts a daily two-hour show on MSNBC.
Most recently Symone Sanders, a former adviser and senior spokesperson for vice president Kamala Harris, joined MSNBC in January.
Ms Sanders will host a show on Peacock called Symone at 4pm on weekends and take part in live programming on MSNBC.
As to who might replace Ms Psaki at the famous White House press room podium, in her absence due to testing positive for Covid-19, the principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was first to step up before also testing positive.
Ms Jean-Pierre would be the first Black woman to serve as the chief White House press secretary, and already made history as the first Black woman to deliver a briefing in decades when she did so last year.
In her absence, three of this week’s briefings have been handled by communications director Kate Bedingfield, a Biden-world veteran. Her briefings are having the effect, even if unintentional, of appearing as her audition for the role.
Following the departure of Ms Sanders last year, there are a handful of others who could potentially serve as plausible successors to Ms Psaki, including the State Department’s Ned Price or even, according to Politico Playbook, a journalist, or first lady Dr Jill Biden’s communications director, Elizabeth Alexander.
For now Ms Jean-Pierre and Ms Bedingfield appear the top contenders should the role become vacant.
