Two queer women of color made history on Sunday after being named to President-elect Joe Biden’s all-female communications team.
As the Biden-Harris administration fills out posts in its cabinet and positions throughout the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre and Pili Tobar will be two of the seven women in charge of coordinating its media and press response. Jean-Pierre, former chief public affairs officer for the progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org, has been tapped as White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, while Tobar, who previously was the deputy director for America’s Voice, will serve as White House Deputy Communications Director.
Jean-Pierre, a daughter of Haitan parents born in Martinique, brings a broad range of experience to the position. In addition to her nonprofit work, she has worked on three presidential campaigns and served in the White House during Obama’s first term. Prior to being named to Biden’s communications team, she briefly acted as the chief of staff for Vice President-elect Kamala Harris during the transition. That appointment made Jean-Pierre the first Black LGBTQ+ person to hold the position in a presidential administration, a milestone that was widely celebrated at the time.
Tobar, meanwhile, brings her own prodigious qualifications to the fold. A former communications director for the Latino Victory Project, she was hired by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2017 to lead Latinx outreach efforts as his Hispanic media director. She went onto become deputy director for the immigration reform organization America’s Voice before she was brought onto Biden’s presidential campaign in July as the communications director for coalitions.
After the new hires were announced over the weekend, Jean-Pierre said she is “profoundly honored” to help break ground as part of the new administration. She and Tobar will be the first out queer women of color to ever be part of the White House communications staff.
“I’m so proud that our communications team for the Biden-Harris administration is a roster filled w/ rockstar women… ,” she said. “All will bring dignity, professionalism and expertise to their respective roles!”
Other women tapped to lead communications for the incoming administration include White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson for the Office of the Vice President Symone Sanders, and Communications Director for the Office of the Vice President Ashley Etienne. A majority of appointees are women of color, and all but one have children. Jean-Pierre shares a daughter with wife Suzanne Malveaux, while the LGBTQ+ newspaper Washington Blade notes that Tobar “lives in D.C. with her wife and daughter.”
In a statement, Biden lauded his appointments as “qualified, experienced communicators.” As the only White House in history to have its entire comms department staffed by women, the president-elect said the new press and media corps will “bring diverse perspectives to their work and a shared commitment to building this country back better.”
Harris further praised the administration’s selections as “experienced, talented, and barrier-shattering.”
“Our country is facing unprecedented challenges — from the coronavirus pandemic to the economic crisis, to the climate crisis, and a long-overdue reckoning over racial injustice,” she said in a press release. “To overcome these challenges, we need to communicate clearly, honestly, and transparently with the American people, and this… team will help us do that.”
Jean-Pierre and Tobar aren’t the only LGBTQ+ person to be part of the incoming White House: They will be joined by White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo, the first queer Latinx person to serve in the position. His appointment was announced last week, with more LGBTQ+ picks expected to come.
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