Symone Sanders, Chief Spokesperson for Kamala Harris, to Leave the White House

Symone Sanders, senior vice president Kamala Harris spokesperson and senior adviser, will leave the Biden administration at year’s end, according to a source close to the administration.

“Symone served with honor for three years,” the source told CNN. “The President and Vice President are grateful for Symone’s service and advocacy for this White House. She is a valued member, a team player, and will be missed. We are grateful to have you working through the end of the year.”

His departure marks the second departure of the Harris communications team in recent weeks. Last month, a White House official told the CNN that the vice president’s director of communications, Ashley Etienne, was out looking for “other opportunities.”

The news followed a myriad of reports, including by the CNN, of internal fights and malfunctions of the team. Still, the source ruled out that Sanders’ departure had to do with reports of dysfunction, considering the right time for her to leave.

Harris has known about Sanders’ departure for some time, according to a second source. Anita Dunn, a former top adviser to Biden, praised Sanders as “an extraordinary talent” in an interview with CNN on Wednesday night.

“Symone has been working at the highest levels and in an extraordinarily intense environment for three years for Joe Biden. And now to Vice President Harris as well,” Dunn said.

“When you look at three years, two in the campaign, one in the White House, no one can question her decision that she needs a break and it’s time to move on. And she will always be a member of the Biden-Harris family.”

Sanders, a 31-year-old African-American political strategist, joined the White House after Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, for which she served as senior adviser.

She was also national press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont’s 2016 presidential campaign and a political analyst for the CNN before joining Biden’s campaign.

During his time in office, Sanders helped lead messages for Harris, who was tasked with making what allies and supporters consider a complicated portfolio. Adding another dimension to Sanders’ efforts, Harris — who has been dogged with messaging challenges since his unsuccessful presidential campaign — publicly derailed the White House message during his time as deputy.

In February, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin expressed frustration with an interview Harris gave in his home state to promote the American Rescue Plan, suggesting that the administration failed to advise him.

During her first trip abroad, Harris — who is leading diplomatic efforts to curb migration from the Northern Triangle — had to deal with the ramifications of her response about why she has not yet visited the US-Mexico border as vice president.

And over the summer, the White House had to dive into damage control after reports of dysfunctions on Harris’ staff.

The interview during which she made the border comment came after Harris attended an extensive media training session to improve her presentation in interviews and speeches. This training was one of several sessions over the past year, according to several sources.

In September, the vice president’s office also tried to contain repercussions over Harris’ lack of resistance in an exchange with a student who characterized Israel’s actions against the Palestinians as “an ethnic genocide and displacement of people.”

Since the errors in the messages, the vice president’s office has hired two communications veterans – Lorraine Voles, a crisis communications expert, and Adam Frankel, a former Obama speechwriter – to focus their efforts on “organizational development, strategic communications and long-term planning, “according to the White House.

Sanders had already made her White House ambitions known, writing in her 2020 memoir: “One day I want to be White House press secretary.” Today the position is occupied by Jen Psaki,