Karine Jean-Pierre Responds to Question About Possible Staff Shake-Up at the White House

On Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bluntly responded to a question about President Joe Biden’s “sagging” poll numbers and whether the administration was considering any staffing shake-ups or strategy changes to adjust. 

Jean-Pierre simply stared at the reporter asking the question, and responded, “No.”

The reporter then referenced what appeared to be the call White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients held with cabinet officials over the summer, asking them to decide whether to stay for the remainder of Biden’s term or leave early. 

“Should we be anticipating any departures of either cabinet officials or other senior officials,” the reporter asked.

“Look, I can’t speak to people’s personal decisions. We don’t have anything to announce at this time,” Jean-Pierre responded. “We’re going to continue to do the work that the president set out to do. We just talked about supply chains, we just talked about the economy, we’ve been talking about the president’s leadership globally, especially in the Middle East. That’s what we’re here to do and focus on. That’s what I’m here to do and focus on. I just can’t speak to people’s decisions.”

Biden continues to struggle to win back enough support from Americans before the 2024 presidential election. A number of polls show that Biden trails all of the top Republican candidates gunning for the GOP presidential nomination.

Earlier this month, Marquette Law School released a national poll, showing Biden trailing former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in hypothetical matchups. Trump, who is the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination, held a 52% to 48% lead over Biden. Haley topped Biden 55% to 45% while DeSantis held a 51% to 49% advantage.

The poll comes as the White House continues to claim it is not concerned about polling, which continues to show Biden’s approval rating falling and his 2024 prospects waning.

“I mean, look, I spoke to this yesterday,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier this month. “And what I said is you have to take these polls … with a grain of salt, right? And I talked about 2020 … and what we saw in 2020 and what was being reported then. And what we saw is a president that was … able to bring an incredibly strong, diverse coalition to win in 2020. We saw the same thing in 2022.

“So, look, we don’t put much stock in … polls,” she continued. “The president is going to focus on delivering for the American people. He has an agenda that is incredibly popular, and that matters. And that’s going to be what the president is going to focus on: How do we continue to deliver for the American people? And that’s the focus.”

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