Harris deputy press secretary departing for Pentagon

Vice President Harris’ deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh is leaving the White House to work at the Pentagon, according to a memo sent to staff by communications director Jamal Simmons.  

Singh has worked for Harris for more than two years, including on the Biden-Harris campaign and during the transition period.  

“We will miss her institutional knowledge, strategic counsel and rapid-fire e-mail fingers,” Simmons wrote in the memo to staff, which was obtained by The Hill. It was not immediately clear what role Singh will assume at the Defense Department.   

Singh’s departure was announced along with a broader reshuffling of the vice president’s communications team.  

Simmons said Ernesto Apreza, who has been working at the White House Office of Public Engagement, would move over to the vice president’s office as a new deputy press secretary.  

Herbie Ziskend, Harris’ deputy communications director, is being promoted to senior adviser for communications.  

And Rachel Palermo, an assistant press secretary in Harris’ office, is being promoted to deputy communications director.   

The vice president’s office also recently brought on Tate Mitchell from the Small Business Administration to serve as press operations coordinator, according to a White House official. Mitchell worked on the Biden-Harris campaign. 

Harris’ team has undergone some staffing changes in recent months. Simmons was brought on in January to replace Ashley Etienne, who departed as the vice president’s communications director at the end of last year. Symone Sanders also left her role as Harris’ senior adviser and chief spokesperson and has since taken a job at MSNBC.  

The changes come as Harris is expected to ramp up her domestic travel to promote the administration’s achievements.