White House press secretary Jen Psaki plans to step down next year

Jen Psaki plans to step down as White House press secretary in roughly a year, she revealed on Thursday.

“I think it’s going to be time for somebody else to have this job, in a year from now or about a year from now,” the Biden spokeswoman said in an interview with David Axelrod.

Ms Psaki said she loves her job, and did not appear to be making the announcement because anything had gone wrong. She said she had always planned to leave her post after a year or so, and had told President Biden as much when he first offered her the job.

The role of White House press secretary is often a thankless one, and is as stressful and fast-paced as the latest news cycle. Most presidents go through more than one press secretary over the course of their time in office. Donald Trump, for example, had four – and that was only in one term.

In her brief time as Mr Biden’s spokeswoman, Ms Psaki has already distinguished herself with her friendly and professional manner. White House reporters, not known to be easy to please, have recently found themselves in the odd position of praising her.

“She’s firm and sunny, and she can generally make people feel good about their interactions,” one anonymous journalist told the Washingtonian on Wednesday, adding that she doesn’t always provide much information – “but that’s kind of her job.”

“It’s one of those weird things where you leave the process feeling good about it even though, when you hang up the phone, you realize, ‘F***, she said nothing helpful,’” the reporter said.