Harris hires new deputy chief of staff amid latest personnel shakeup

By Jasmine Wright and Kate Sullivan, CNN

Vice President Kamala Harris has hired White House staffer Erin Wilson to become her new deputy chief of staff, a White House official told CNN on Monday, amid the latest personnel shakeup in the vice president’s office.

Wilson is slated to start May 31 and will replace Michael Fuchs, who announced he was leaving the office earlier this year. She joins the office from the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, where she currently serves as deputy director. She also served as the national political director for Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.

The hire was first reported by Axios.

White House deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon, in a statement, praised Wilson as a “key leader” of Biden’s political team and said her “leadership, dedication, and thoughtfulness will be an asset to the Vice President’s team.”

Harris’ office has seen a long string of departures, including most recently her chief of staff Tina Flournoy. In addition to Flournoy and Fuchs, Harris’ national security adviser Nancy McEldowney stepped down, and communications director Ashley Etienne, chief spokesperson and senior adviser Symone Sanders and deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh have all previously departed her office.

The office has seen a notably high turnover rate following reports of dysfunction and infighting within the vice president’s office, many of which centered on Flournoy’s leadership — and by extension Harris’ leadership. Top White House officials and aides to the vice president have gone on the record to defend Harris and Flournoy and have described the reports as overblown or untrue.

Harris’ new staff — including a near fully revamped communications team — is expected to come into play this summer and fall as she looks to ramp up her media presence and hit the road ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

The-CNN-Wire
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