White House communications director Kate Bedingfield has agreed to stay in her post weeks after it was announced she was resigning.
In an email to colleagues, Bedingfield said she was excited about this “awesome — if admittedly last-minute! — development.”
“The work is too important and too energizing and I have a lot of gas left in the tank,” she added.
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The decision to stay was made after President Joe Biden and White House chief of staff Ron Klain asked Bedingfield to stay, according to an NBC News reporter.
“A massive thank you to everyone (every. one.) who endured listening to me wax on about how I regretted my decision to leave. There’s so much more to do and I’m so proud and grateful to be part of this team. Onward!” she said in a tweet after the news broke.
A massive thank you to everyone (every. one.) who endured listening to me wax on about how I regretted my decision to leave. There’s so much more to do and I’m so proud and grateful to be part of this team. Onward! https://t.co/KUCV6HZjNk
— Kate Bedingfield (@WHCommsDir) July 29, 2022
Bedingfield, who has worked with the president for over a decade, was initially expected to leave last week; however, her departure was delayed after Biden tested positive for COVID-19, pushing her expected final day in the administration to Friday.
Bedingfield served as the deputy campaign manager and communications director on Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign and as the communications director for Biden when he was vice president.
Klain, in previously announcing Bedingfield’s retirement plans, credited her with helping Biden win the presidential election as well as secure the passage of the “Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Law” and Ketanji Brown Jackson’s appointment to the Supreme Court.
“She has played a huge role in everything the President has achieved — from his second term as Vice President, through the campaign, and since coming to the White House,” Klain said in a press release. “Her strategic acumen, intense devotion to the President’s agenda, and fierce work on his behalf are unmatched.”
Bedingfield’s note to colleagues, shared on social media, said she was going to “catch up” on vacation time in August after three and a half years without it. Bedingfield’s exit was initially planned so she could spend more time with her family, according to the White House.
Full note from @WHCommsDir to staff announcing she is now staying at the White House after she had planned to leave today pic.twitter.com/tZuwrrEdi8
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) July 29, 2022
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Bedingfield’s decision to remain comes as other top officials in Biden’s administration exited their posts, including former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who announced her resignation in May.
Psaki has since been replaced by her former deputy, Karine Jean-Pierre. No replacement for Bedingfield had been announced.
