White House official denies reports of briefing room tensions

A White House official denied a report that tensions are running high between the Biden administration‘s top two spokespeople, who tend to split up handling daily press briefings.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has shared the podium with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby frequently since taking the job in May 2022, which apparently has sparked frustrations within the West Wing.

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A story from Axios holds that Jean-Pierre and Kirby’s relationship is “fraught with tension,” citing administration sources, because the press secretary job is effectively being divided between the two. Kirby speaks on foreign policy, while Jean-Pierre handles domestic matters.

However, a White House official denied the report’s accuracy on Friday.

“As someone who spends more time ‘behind closed doors’ with both of them than just about any person, I don’t recognize this description of their relationship at all,” the White House official said. “The truth is the opposite — they talk all the time and have a collegial and collaborative rapport.”

Kirby has been especially active since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, appearing in nearly every briefing since and tending to take questions before Jean-Pierre. She has held just one solo briefing since then, and Kirby has reportedly said he’d like to be press secretary himself at some point.

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Jean-Pierre’s predecessor, MSNBC host Jen Psaki, rarely split time with administration officials during her run as press secretary.

Since taking the job more than a year ago, Jean-Pierre has also faced criticism for citing the Hatch Act to avoid answering questions and has sometimes clashed with reporters and refused to call on those she deems too disruptive.