White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gave her final press briefing to reporters Wednesday afternoon, and the last of the administration.
Marking her 306th time at the briefing room lectern, Jean-Pierre took a moment from the day’s big news, the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas, to reflect on her tenure.
“As I said during my first briefing when I took over this role, we might not see eye to eyes here in this room all the time, and that is okay,” she told reporters. “The give and take that happens here is incredibly healthy, and it is part of our democracy. I have been honored to partake in it with all of you — well, most of the time.”
Her tenure at times has been contentious with reporters, and there was some back and forth today on whether Donald Trump deserved some credit for the ceasefire deal. John Kirby, who has frequently been at briefings to talk about national security issues, did not appear today.
Jean-Pierre also was again pressed on why President Joe Biden has not held more formal press conferences, including an end-of-the-year meeting with reporters as some predecessors have done. Jean-Pierre said that Biden has taken questions from reporters after various statements, including his announcement of the ceasefire deal today and a more free-wheeling exchange Friday.
Jean-Pierre will be succeeded by Karoline Leavitt, who served as spokesperson for the Trump campaign. She said that they have not spoken about the job during the transition period.
“I wish her the best of luck,” Jean-Pierre said. “This is a great job, an amazing opportunity … to go back and forth with all of you and speak on behalf of this president, the president of the United States. There’s nothing like it.” She called her role “the honor of a lifetime.”
During Trump’s first term, briefings at times were more sporadic, and one press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, held none at all. During the early days of Covid, Trump himself took on the role, appearing nightly in the socially distanced briefing room to answer questions from reporters, sometimes lasting four hours.
His new press secretary has not yet announced plans for her schedule or frequency.
“I hope she continues to do what we’ve been doing for the past four years,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre is the first Black person and the first openly LGBTQ person to hold the position. In her remarks, she said that she “would not be here today for generations of barrier-breaking people before me. I have stood on their shoulders.”
Jean-Pierre also said that she hoped that she would be an inspiration to many young girls of similar backgrounds with goals to “achieve great things.”
Her predecessor, Jen Psaki, attended the briefing, crowded into the back of the briefing room along with other former White House staffers of the Biden administration. Psaki served from the start of the administration to May 2022, when she joined MSNBC and later became a host for the network. Together, she and Jean-Pierre held 537 briefings.
Jean-Pierre did not say what her career plans are, but she said that she would be spending more time with her daughter.
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