Ashley Etienne, Vice President Kamala Harris' communications chief, is jumping ship to ''pursue other opportunities,'' a move that comes amid historically bad poll numbers for the vice president and growing criticism of her tenure, Vanity Fair reports.
CNN earlier this week reported that Harris has been increasingly sidelined in the administration while being tasked with handling politically dangerous issues.
One recent survey had her approval rating at 28%.
Etienne, a former staffer to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former President Barack Obama, joined Harris' team shortly after the 2020 election. Her resignation will take effect next month.
''Ashley is a valued member of the vice president's team who has worked tirelessly to advance the goals of this administration,'' the official said. ''She is leaving the office in December to pursue other opportunities.''
Etienne oversees Harris' press and public relations image.
Harris, following the CNN report, told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that she didn't feel like was she being underused by President Joe Biden.
''No. I don't,'' she said in an interview that aired Thursday on ''Good Morning America.''
''I am very, very excited about the work that we have accomplished, but I am also absolutely, absolutely clear-eyed that there is a lot more to do and we're going to get it done.''
She also stressed her strong relationship with Biden.
''Polls, they go up, they go down,'' Harris said. ''But I think what is most important is that we remain consistent with what we need to do to deal with the issues that we're presented with at this moment.''
White House officials have also come to Harris' defense.
Press secretary Jen Psaki argued that Harris receives more criticism because of her status as a woman of color ,while White House chief of staff Ron Klain called her an ''incredible leader.''
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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