Newly Promoted Karine Jean-Pierre Blocks John Kirby from Podium

Newly promoted White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who also now serves as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, is preventing National Security Press Secretary John Kirby from being present at White House press briefings. A person familiar with the matter told Axios.

Reports say there is infighting and “tension” between Jean-Pierre and Kirby over how much time each will be allotted to provide ready-made public relations statements to establishment media during press conferences. Axios previously reported that. Kirby has foreign policy experience and is reportedly a “favorite of Biden.”

• Biden had wanted both men on the podium, but Jean-Pierre believed Kirby's presence would give the impression that he needed a chaperone, said a person familiar with Jean-Pierre's thinking. told Axios.

• “The president called Mr. Kirby to meet with him on a regular basis, and that was in the president's briefing room, not anyone else's,” said a person familiar with the move.

Jean Pierre also expressed his dissatisfaction A person familiar with the matter told Axios that she had no say over when Kirby would attend the briefing.

White House press secretary Andrew Bates told Axios that “their characterization of the dynamics is inaccurate,” but a National Security Council spokesperson did not deny the leak.

Jean-Pierre's tactics coincided with the July 30 resignation of White House communications aide Anita Dunn. Jean-Pierre has allowed Kirby to be on the podium just 15 percent of the time since Kirby left, down from 55 percent before Dunn left.