President Joe Biden’s bodyman and personal aide, Stephen Goepfert, will reportedly leave the White House and head to the Department of Transportation at the end of the week.
“From the campaign to the White House, Stephen Goepfert has been by my side,” Biden said in a statement, CNN reported. “In moments big, small, and extraordinary, he’s been a trusted and loyal confidant who everyone counts on and who always delivers. Jill and I will miss Stephen, but we’re proud that he will continue to serve the American people in his new role in the Biden-Harris administration as he continues his career in public service.”
Goepfert, the first openly gay personal aide to a president, has likely spent more time by the president’s side than other any other White House aide since his 2020 presidential campaign, CNN reported, describing him as a “key cog” on Biden’s team.
The special assistant to the president would be the first staffer the president would see most mornings and the last he would see at night, and senior White House advisors told CNN that Goepfert was known for a minute understanding of Biden’s schedule and habits.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 11: U.S. President Joe Biden (R) returns to the Oval Office following an event to celebrate the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on the South Lawn of the White House on July 11, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He is frequently captured in media and photography placing Biden’s remarks on the podium or slipping a note to the president during public events, and his job required him to be involved in both the president’s public and private life, traveling with him on foreign trips or to his Delaware homes.
When the rest of the country was holed up at home during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Goepfert was physically at Biden’s home to help set up media interviews, donor calls, Zoom calls, help fix the president’s speeches or put the briefing book together, the publication reported.
The president’s bodyman will be replaced by the current White House receptionist, Jacob Spreyer. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire on why Goepfert is leaving the administration.
Goepfert is one of many White House employees to depart the administration in recent months and head to another government position: White House Rapid Response Director Mike Gwin and Press Assistant Michael Kikukawa both headed to the Treasury Department, while Assistant White House Press Secretary Vedant Patel is now a deputy spokesperson at the State Department.
White House Press Office Chief of Staff Amanda Finney went to the Energy Department in June, and Symone Sanders, the former chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, now hosts a show at MSNBC — where former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also headed.