White House press secretary Jen Psaki is in exclusive talks with MSNBC to join the network after she leaves the White House around May, according to a source close to the matter.
Why it matters: It’s been speculated for weeks that Psaki would leave the White House for a TV gig. White House communications staffers often negotiate TV jobs once they leave an administration.
Details: Psaki has been in close consultation with the White House counsel’s office about her departure, according to two sources familiar with the plans. She’s been treading carefully on the ethics and legal aspects of her plans.
- No contracts have been signed. Government ethics rules have stipulations about how public employees can pursue private sector job opportunities while in office.
- She’s also told some senior officials at the White House about her departure and her plans to join MSNBC, according to two sources.
- Psaki has not yet formally told the White House press team about her departure, an administration source tells Axios.
- MSNBC has been working with its compliance lawyers to make sure their conversations didn’t violate any government regulations, according to a source close to the matter.
- Psaki is now in exclusive talks with MSNBC, and the deal is nearly final. It was reported by Puck last month that Psaki also had conversations with CNN and that other networks had expressed interest in signing her.
Psaki will host a show for MSNBC on NBCUniversal’s streaming platform, Peacock.
- She will also be a part of live programming on MSNBC’s cable network as a voice on different shows, but she will not be hosting the 9 p.m. hour replacing Rachel Maddow, which has been speculated.
Psaki is of Irish, Greek and Polish descent, with her Greek roots in Messinia through her father James R. Psaki. She will be White House press secretary in the Biden administration. Credit: U.S. Department of State
Joe Biden has hired an all-female senior communications team for his administration, including naming veteran Democratic spokesperson Jen Psaki as his White House press secretary.
Psaki is of Irish, Greek and Polish descent, with her Greek roots in Messinia through her father, James R. Psaki.
