Biden’s Communications Director STEPS DOWN

One of Joe Biden’s top advisors will soon step down.

Kate Bedingfield who has served as Biden’s communications director since 2015 will step down later this month.

Bedingfield will be replaced by Ben LaBolt “a veteran of the Obama admin”.

LaBolt was previously one of Obama’s top campaign managers and would later help Ketanji Brown be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice.

WH announced another longtime Biden aide Kate Bedingfield will depart her role as Communication Director (again) at the end of the month ahead of President Biden expected 2024 campaign launch

Bedingfield will be replaced by Ben LaBolt, a former Obama WH press official pic.twitter.com/9Xo3LUiX93

— Mona Salama  (@ByMonaSalama) February 10, 2023

NBC News broke the story:

Kate Bedingfield, a top adviser for President Biden since 2015, will step down as White House communications director later this month, NBC News has learned. And Ben LaBolt, a veteran of the Obama administration who worked on the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, will step into the role.

Bedingfield is the latest member of Biden’s core group of advisers to depart the West Wing ahead of the president’s expected 2024 campaign launch. She had initially announced her intention to leave the administration last summer before deciding to remain on board through the midterm elections.

Bedingfield entered Biden’s orbit in 2015 as he was still considering whether to join the 2016 presidential field. She continued as an informal adviser when he left office in 2017, before serving as deputy campaign manager for his 2020 run and then taking the communication director post after his inauguration.

Among Biden’s tight-knit campaign team, she earned the monicker of captain of the “team of killers,” a reference to the assessment of Biden’s campaign team by then-President Donald Trump. She is likely to serve as a consultant for Biden’s re-election campaign if he runs, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Breaking from ⁦@mikememoli⁩, ⁦@carolelee⁩ and myself:

Biden adviser Bedingfield to exit W.H., Obama vet LaBolt to join https://t.co/I0rFeP42mT

— Kristen Welker (@kwelkernbc) February 10, 2023

LaBolt a familiar presence to Bidenworld after helping with transition and KBJ confirmation. Full story: https://t.co/kb1JOCtC7s

— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) February 10, 2023

The Hill got the scoop too:

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield will leave her role at the end of the month, the administration announced Friday.

Bedingfield, a longtime Biden aide dating back to his time as vice president, will be replaced by Ben LaBolt, who served as an Obama White House press official and most recently joined the Biden administration on a temporary basis to assist with communications around the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Bedingfield had originally announced plans to step down as communications director last summer, but reversed her decision and opted to stay on through the rest of the year.

“Since my time as Vice President, Kate has been a loyal and trusted adviser, through thick and thin,” Biden said in a statement. “She was a critical strategic voice from the very first day of my presidential campaign in 2019 and has been a key part of advancing my agenda in the White House.

NEW: Biden adviser Bedingfield to exit W.H., Obama vet LaBolt to join.

Another core Biden veteran is leaving the administration but the communications director is expected to consult a re-elect campaign.https://t.co/sjHaEYpmch

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 10, 2023