Vice President Kamala Harris is set to lose another aide, bringing the total up to at least nine who have left her during the Biden administration, CBS News reported Wednesday.
Harris’ current deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, will be departing to join the Defense Department in a new position, according to an internal email obtained by CBS News.
“We will miss her institutional knowledge, strategic counsel and rapid-fire e-mail fingers,” Jamal Simmons, Harris’ communications director, said in an email, according to CBS News.
Ernesto “Ernie” Apreza will fill the role as Harris’ new deputy press secretary, according to the report. Apreza currently serves as the White House’s senior advisor for public engagement.
Thankful to the @POTUS & @VP for the continued opportunity to serve. It is a different title but the priorities remain the same. Can’t help but think about my immigrant parents & how in one generation their son became a spokesperson for the Vice President of the United States.🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/lCybpJdX1Y
— Ernie Apreza (@ErnestoApreza46) March 17, 2022
Harris also reportedly hired a new aide to replace press secretary Symone Sanders, who left in December and joined MSNBC as an anchor. The email, according to CBS News, did not disclose who the new aide would be. (RELATED: ‘Do People Just Not Want To Work For Her Anymore?’ Doocy Presses Psaki On On Staff Leaving Kamala Harris)
Singh joins a list of aides that have departed from Harris’ office. Those that have left include: Sanders, chief spokeswoman; Peter Velz, director of press operations; Vincent Evans, deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs; Rajan Kaur, head of digital strategy; Karly Satkowiak, director of advance; Gabrielle DeFranceschi, deputy director of advance; Ashley Etienne, communications director; and Kate Childs Graham, head speechwriter.
A June report alleged that the environment in Harris’ office is “abusive,” according to 22 current and former staffers who spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity.
“I would say that working on a presidential campaign, maybe covering one too, I would say, to be fair, and working in the first year of a White House is exciting and rewarding but it’s also grueling and exhausting,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said when pressed why so many staffers were leaving Harris in December.