Karen Donfried, a top official in the State Department has resigned from her post, leaving Biden scrambling to fill her shoes in this time of crisis.
Daily caller reports, according to the State Department, Karen Donfried will step down as Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Having been nominated in March of 2021, Donfried began her term in late September 2021. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to NATO expansion, her absence leaves the U.S. without a key diplomatic post.
In a tweet Antony Blinken stated “I express my deep gratitude to my friend and colleague Karen Donfried as she departs the @StateDept. She led the EUR Bureau with utmost distinction during a time of crisis, managing our relationships with our European allies with extraordinary skill. She’ll be missed by all.”
Previously, Donfried served as president of the German Marshall Fund and was a senior director on the National Security Council for European Affairs during the Obama administration.
She has not stated where she will be headed next, other than spending more time with her family, nor has the Biden administration announced who will fill Donfried’s post.
Biden has faced more than a few critical departures in recent times.
Fox News reports, recently, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the resignations of two “valued members” of the communications office.
After discussing the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and Biden’s trip to Ukraine, the Press Secretary changed gears to announce the “bittersweet” news that Jean-Pierre’s Press Assistant Megha Bhattacharya and her Chief of Staff Robbie Dornbush were leaving the White House’s press team.
Jean-Pierre started. “We have another bittersweet day for us, for the White House press team, as this is the last press briefing for Megha and Robbie — to my right here — who are valued members of our team,”
In June, Vedent Patel, assistant press secretary for Jean-Pierre, announced his resignation and transfer to the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson position. The next day, Jean-Pierre announced Amanda Finney left her position as chief of staff for the Energy Department to become deputy director of public affairs.
Also, other key personnel in the Biden White House resigned in 2022, including Pili Tobar, deputy director of communications and special assistant to Biden, who resigned in May; TJ Ducklo, who served as deputy press secretary and special assistant to the president, resigned in February 2021; and Jessica Hurtz, who served as White House staff secretary and deputy assistant to Biden, resigned in October 2022.
It appears that the crisis in the Biden Administration only gets deeper. With the recent news about Karen Donfried’s resignation, the White House is now facing both EU and Eurasian issues alone. This comes on the heels of a litany of scandals, from inept economic policies to unprecedented political gaffes that have shown Biden to be unfit for his job. As a result, this crisis indicates an ever-growing sense of disorder and disarray in these turbulent times – especially as global conflicts fester and economies across the globe struggle to stay afloat.
