Jen Psaki

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Jen Psaki
Official photo of Jen Psaki.jpg
White House Communications Director
Assumed office
April 1, 2015
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Jennifer Palmieri
Spokesperson for the United States Department of State
In office
February 11, 2013 – March 31, 2015
President Barack Obama
Deputy Marie Harf
Preceded by Victoria Nuland
Succeeded by John Kirby
White House Deputy Communications Director
In office
December 19, 2009 – September 22, 2011
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Dan Pfeiffer
Succeeded by Jennifer Palmieri
White House Deputy Press Secretary
In office
January 20, 2009 – December 19, 2009
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Tony Fratto
Succeeded by Bill Burton
Personal details
Born Jennifer Rene Psaki
(1978-12-01) December 1, 1978 (age 45)
Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater College of William and Mary

Jennifer Rene "Jen" Psaki (pronounced /sɑːkiː/; born December 1, 1978)[1] is the current White House Communications Director. She previously served as a spokesperson for the United States Department of State, and has served in various press and communications roles in the Obama White House.[2]

Early life

Psaki, of Greek[3] and Polish[4] ancestry, was born in Stamford, Connecticut. She graduated from Greenwich High School in 1996 and the College of William & Mary in 2000. She is a member of the Chi Omega sorority.[5] At William & Mary, Psaki was a backstroke swimmer for the William & Mary Tribe athletic team for two years.[5][6]

Career

Psaki began her career in 2001 with the re-election campaigns of Iowa Democrats Tom Harkin and Tom Vilsack. Psaki then became deputy press secretary for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. From 2005 to 2006, Psaki served as communications director to U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley and regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[7]

Throughout the 2008 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Barack Obama, Psaki served as traveling press secretary.[7] After Obama won the election, Psaki followed Obama to the White House as Deputy Press Secretary and was promoted to Deputy Communications Director on December 19, 2009.[8][9] On September 22, 2011, Psaki left this position to become senior vice president and managing director at the Washington, D.C. office of public relations firm Global Strategy Group.[10][11]

In 2012, Psaki returned to political communications as press secretary for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.[12] On February 11, 2013, Psaki became spokesperson for the United States Department of State.[12] Her hiring at the Department of State fueled speculation that she would likely replace White House Press Secretary Jay Carney when he left the White House,[13] but on May 30, 2014, it was announced that Josh Earnest would replace Carney.

Personal life

In 2010, Psaki married Gregory Mecher, a deputy finance director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.[14]

GameStop controversy

At the January 29, 2021 press briefing, a reporter asked "do you anticipate President Biden to address the GameStop controversy when he meets with his economic team a little bit later this morning", Jen Psaki responded "No. Do we anticipate him addressing it publicly, you mean?" and explained the focus of the meeting was economic recovery. She continued "I know it is a big story, but it doesn't, uh you know obviously, our focus and our big story is getting the American people back to work"[15][16][17].

Psaki's dodging of the GameStop question raised concerns about conflicts of interest[18]. Citadel, a hedge fund giant with a vested interest in GameStop, employs a fund manager sharing the same last name: Jeffrey Psaki[19], leading an editor of Wikipedia to conclude there was a family relation. However, the editor of Law Crime News, Colin Kalmbacher, reached out to Citadel who confirmed "their portfolio manager Jeffrey Psaki is in no way related to Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. (Who has been dodging questions about the Robinhood situation.) That's the end of this story, folks." and "Update: Citadel just reached out to clarify that Jeffrey Psaki is not Jen Psaki's 'brother or husband.'"[20].

Following the allegations, Jeffrey Psaki deleted his LinkedIn account[21].


References

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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  • Jen Psaki on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Political offices
Preceded by Spokesperson for the United States Department of State
2013–2015		 Succeeded by
John Kirby
Preceded by White House Director of Communications
2015–present		 Incumbent
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