Susan Rice Leaving Biden White House
The White House announced Monday morning that Susan Rice is stepping down as President Biden's domestic policy advisor, after being in the role for over two years.
"I surprised a lot of people when I named Ambassador Susan Rice as my Domestic Policy Advisor," Biden said in a statement which announced the departure. "Susan was synonymous with foreign policy, having previously served as National Security Advisor and UN Ambassador. But what I knew then and what we all know now – after more than two years of her steady leadership of the Domestic Policy Council – it’s clear: there is no one more capable, and more determined to get important things done for the American people than Susan Rice."
She'll formally step down next month, and was in charge of various polarizing Biden administration issues from gun control to student loan forgiveness and immigration.
Biden said in the statement that she made "history" given her past career as national security adviser and now recently domestic policy adviser.
Before being tapped as Obama's national security adviser for the former Democratic president's second term, she was the US ambassador to the United Nations.
There she had been key in crafting US messaging on events like the "Arab Spring" and the US-NATO intervention in Libya to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi...
From libya to syria, when it came to mid-east, susan rice was hawk pushing for bombings.
— Araari (@IconicAraari) November 22, 2020
Here she is proud of herself for convincing Obama to bomb Syria without congressional approval.pic.twitter.com/5AiJdxTyTc
As for her foreign policy legacy, she was always among the Democrats' stalwart hawks in the mold of Hillary Clinton. It's as yet unclear where she's moving to next - perhaps MSNBC has a cushy political pundit job waiting for her.
As for a possible replacement, Politico writes that "Rice’s departure leaves a major hole within the top ranks of the White House right as it gears up for a likely re-election campaign and as it faces a stare down with congressional Republicans over raising the debt limit. Among those being eyed as a replacement for her include Neera Tanden, Biden’s staff secretary and a senior adviser, four people with knowledge of the deliberations told POLITICO."
