On Monday (January 24), President Joe Biden announced that his domestic policy adviser, Susan Rice, is resigning.
In her portfolio, Rice, who has been in the role since the beginning of Biden’s administration, has covered issues ranging from gun violence to student loans.
Biden praised her in his statement, stating there wasn’t anyone “more capable and more determined to get things done for the American people” than Rice.
Biden explained that what set Rice apart “as a leader and colleague” was how she handled her role with “seriousness… urgency … [and] tenacity” and brought “integrity, humility and humor [to work] which she does.”
In Monday’s letter, Biden expressed that he would “miss Rice.”
Despite Monday’s statement, Biden did not reveal when Rice was expected to have her last day.
However, according to reporting by NBC, Rice plans to leave the White House on May 26.
News of the domestic policy advisor’s departure comes as Biden finally gets ready to go into campaign mode and is expected to announce his re-election bid as early as Tuesday (April 25).
Her departure also comes as controversy surrounds the administration’s handling of immigration and the U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis, and just months after new chief of staff Jeff Zients took office.
NBC reported that Rice and Zients had known each other since high school.
Rice was the national security adviser and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama administration.
Biden referenced this position in his statement, noting Rice’s foreign policy background and said it surprised people when he first named Rice to a domestic leadership role. However, he noted that she is the only person who has served as both national security adviser and a domestic policy adviser.
