More than 20 black White House aides have departed the Biden administration since late last year, an exodus some have dubbed “Blaxit,” according to a new report.
While some of the departing staffers have left on good terms to pursue additional career or educational opportunities, others have attributed the turnover to a lack of mentorship and opportunity, Politico reported Tuesday, citing nine black current and former White House officials.
“We’re here and we’re doing a lot of work but we’re not decision-makers and there’s no real path towards becoming decision-makers,” one current staffer told the outlet. “There is no real feedback and there’s no clear path to any kind of promotions.”
“They brought in a ton of black people generally to start without ever establishing an infrastructure to retain them or help them be successful,” another current official said. “If there is no clear infrastructure of how to be successful, you become just as invisible in this space than you would be if you were not in it.”
Some “people have not had the best experiences and a lot of that has to do with the death of black leadership,” a former official agreed. “Think about any workplace. Black folks need some person to go to, to strategize and be a mentor, and we just don’t have as many folks who can be mentors to us.”
The first departure of a top black official from the administration came in December, when Vice President Kamala Harris’ senior adviser and chief spokesperson Symone Sanders left to take a hosting gig with MSNBC.
Harris chief of staff Tina Flournoy, communications director Ashley Etienne and public engagement chief Vincent Evans as well as White House public engagement head Cedric Richmond have since joined the rush for the exit.
Other black White House staffers to depart include public engagement aide Carissa Smith, gender policy aide Kalisha Dessources Figures, National Security Council senior director Linda Etim, digital engagement director Cameron Trimble, associate counsel Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo, advisers to the chief of staff Elizabeth Wilkins and Niyat Mulugheta, press assistant Natalie Austin, National Economic Council aides Joelle Gamble and Connor Maxwell, and presidential personnel aides Danielle Okai, Reggie Greer and Rayshawn Dyson.
Those departures aren’t likely to be the last, either: White House officials told Politico that deputy White House counsel Danielle Conley and Council of Economic Advisers aide Saharra Griffin are expected to leave the administration soon as well.
Of all the officials to have left the administration, the departure of Richmond for a post with the Democratic National Committee appears to have hit particularly hard. A former White House aide described the onetime Louisiana congressman as a “nucleus” for black staffers, while a current official described him as a “big brother” and “the voice of those folks,” adding that Richmond’s leaving left aides “a little nervous.”
Other black White House staffers have grown frustrated with what they say is a lack of focus on issues they deem important to the African American community.
“The issues that are the highest priority for our community are no longer at the forefront of the administration’s priority list,” one current aide told Politico. “When 10 black people got killed at a grocery store [in Buffalo], it’s business as usual and no one stops to say to you, ‘Are you okay?’”
“They gave us a mandate to execute on all the things that we promised and not only are we not delivering on that front, but then we’re not also delivering to the staff that came in on the basis of that promise,” another current official told the outlet. “People go home to their families or their communities, and what can they point to specifically? They can’t even point to their own experiences as positive.”
Others have cited relatively low salaries as a driving factor in the departures.
Richmond revealed to Politico that as “a lot of people have been at this grind [for a while] … a slowing down of the work pace and a better salary becomes more attractive.”
“For young African American staffers who can make these types of salaries, it doesn’t just change their plight but their family’s plight,” he added.
Salaries for entry-level White House jobs start at around $48,000, according to the report.
“The pay in the White House is not traditionally very good and a lot of black folks in these roles don’t come from wealthy families,” one black White House official said.
Large numbers of departures are not uncommon around the end of the first year of an administration. While a large number have come out of the vice president’s staff, the West Wing has seen several departures across the board, including former press secretary Jen Psaki, who left her position for an MSNBC gig earlier this month.
The administration has defended the exits, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre — the first black woman and LGBT person to hold the role — telling Politico, “this is a normal time for turnover across the board in any administration and black staff have been promoted at a higher rate than staff who are not diverse.”
“The president is incredibly proud to have built what continues to be the most diverse White House staff in history, and he is committed to continuing historic representation for black staff and all communities,” she added.
The White House also disputed claims of a lack of advancement among black staffers, telling the outlet 15% of that cohort were promoted in the last year. Approximately 14% of White House staff identify as black, according to the report.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for additional comment.
