Kamala Harris’ deputy press secretary is leaving the vice president’s office, another in a growing string of high-level departures.
Sabrina Singh has taken a job at the Defense Department, according to the New York Post.
“We will miss her institutional knowledge, strategic counsel and rapid-fire email fingers,” Harris Communications Director Jamal Simmons wrote in a memo, which was obtained by CBS News.
Singh’s departure means just one of the four top communications positions in the veep’s office is left from the original staff on Inauguration Day.
The Post said she “is at least the ninth key official to depart the veep’s office since this past summer — joining director of digital strategies Rajun Kaur, director of advance Karly Satkowiak, deputy director of advance Gabrielle DeFranceschi, communications director Ashley Etienne, chief spokesperson Symone Sanders, director of press operations Peter Velz, deputy director of public engagement Vince Evans, and speechwriting director Kate Childs Graham.”
The exodus follows a spate of bad press for Harris, with some saying staffers saying her office is dysfunctional and she is a “bully” who levels “soul-destroying criticism.”
Vincent Evans, deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs, in January quit to take on a new job on Capitol Hill, CNBC reported. He left to join the Congressional Black Caucus, which is headed by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), which certainly appeared to be less than a lateral move.
In December 2021, her top spokeswoman, Symone Sanders, and her Communications Director Ashley Etienne, left Harris’ office.
Etienne’s exit announcement came on the heels of devastating USA Today/Suffolk University polling that showed Harris earning a dismal 28% approval rating — 10 points behind President Joe Biden, who sat at a not-so-pretty 38% approval. Biden is apparently not too happy about Harris’ numbers, with one report saying she’s not even considered to be Biden’s successor in the White House anymore.
Yet another report said the two top elected officials in the country are at war, prompting desperate Harris aides to defend their bosses, slamming the media for “gossip.”
The reports about a dysfunctional office emerged first on CNN. “Many current and former West Wing aides say that Vice President Kamala Harris is not being adequately prepared or positioned, and instead is being sidelined, causing frustration among staffers,” CNN wrote.
“Interviews with nearly three dozen former and current Harris aides, administration officials, Democratic operatives, donors and outside advisers — who spoke extensively to CNN — reveal a complex reality inside the White House. Many in the vice president’s circle fume that she’s not being adequately prepared or positioned, and instead is being sidelined. The vice president herself has told several confidants she feels constrained in what she’s able to do politically. And those around her remain wary of even hinting at future political ambitions, with Biden’s team highly attuned to signs of disloyalty, particularly from the vice president,” CNN said.
And an unnamed staffer told The Washington Post, “With Kamala, you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bully and it’s not really clear why.”
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to [email protected].