Harris chief of staff Tina Flournoy leaving administration

Vice President Harris’s chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, is leaving the Biden administration and will be replaced by Harris senior adviser Lorraine Voles, a White House official said Thursday.  

Voles, a veteran communications aide who previously advised Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, has been a senior adviser to the vice president since last summer. Flournoy recruited her for her role as senior adviser, the official said.  

Flournoy is the highest-ranking official to leave the vice president’s office, and news of her exit comes after a series of other departures from Harris’s staff.  

Flournoy’s departure was first reported by The Washington Post, which said she was leaving the post for personal reasons.  

“Tina has been a valued advisor and confidant to me and tremendous leader for the office,” Harris said in a statement on Thursday.  

“From day 1, she led our team during a historic first year as we made progress rebuilding our economy here at home and our alliances around the world. Tina is the consummate public servant and I will continue to rely on her advice, counsel and friendship,” the vice president said.  

President Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, praised Flournoy in a statement as a “critical member of the White House team since day one.” 

While it’s not unusual for officials to leave after a year of service in government, Harris’s staff departures have attracted some attention.  

A handful of communications staff for the vice president left the office last year, including Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders, who took a job at MSNBC, and her communications director, Ashley Etienne.  

Veteran Democratic communications aide Jamal Simmons was brought on as her communications director and Kirsten Allen, who most recently served as a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, moved to the White House to serve as Harris’s press secretary.