Fielding questions on the blunder of a debate, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre admitted that President Biden had a bad night last Thursday but added that the president has the ‘most historic record administration.” And that should matter.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds chimed in Wednesday.
“And he has the most historic record administration the most in modern politics and that should matter,” said Jean-Pierre.
Donalds, on X, blasted Jean-Pieree’s response, “HISTORIC inflation. HISTORIC border crisis. HISTORIC foreign policy blunders. HISTORIC lawfare. Biden’s record is HISTORIC. It DOES MATTER. And the American people DO NOT LIKE IT.”
Jean-Pierre is correct in her statement, and the president has fulfilled his campaign promise of creating the most diverse administration in the nation’s history.
But does it matter to Main Street USA, given the economic struggles facing everyday people and small businesses?
According to a government report obtained by NBC News, nearly 50% of Biden’s current appointees identify as racially or ethnically diverse, surpassing previous administrations.
The Biden administration’s efforts to foster a diverse workforce go beyond simple demographics. The White House has also made strides in ensuring that individuals from various intersectional backgrounds are represented, including those with diverse gender identities, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic statuses.
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Alongside the Biden administration’s emphasis on diversity, they have also significantly expanded the size of the White House staff. Federal records show that the president has employed over 500 staffers in three of his four fiscal years in office, a headcount not seen since the Nixon administration in 1971.
This expansion in staffing has come at a significant cost to taxpayers, with the Biden administration spending $225 million on the White House payroll since the 2021 fiscal year.
This marks the highest level of spending adjusted for inflation recorded over the past two presidential administrations.
In addition to growing the federal workforce, the Biden administration has also opted to give bureaucrats an average pay raise of 4.7% in 2023—the largest such increase since the Carter administration.
This stands in contrast to the more modest raises granted by the previous Trump administration.
The Biden White House’s expanded staff also includes a diverse array of specialized roles and policy portfolios.
The administration has created several highly paid positions focused on improving ‘racial and gender equity,’ including a deputy assistant to the president for racial justice and equity, as well as a director of global gender issues.
The White House also employs 106 “special assistants to the president” tasked with addressing a broad range of policy areas, from gun violence prevention to climate change. This multifaceted approach to policymaking underscores the administration’s desire to tackle complex societal challenges.
Even as the Biden administration has declared the COVID-19 pandemic over, it continues to maintain a cadre of “pandemic response” staffers, spending $723,500 on their salaries for the 2024 fiscal year.
The Biden administration’s commitment to a larger and more diverse White House staff extends beyond the president’s own office. The First Lady’s staff has also grown significantly, with Jill Biden’s team being twice as large as Melania Trump’s at its peak.
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This expansion of the First Lady’s office reflects the Biden administration’s belief in the importance of the First Lady’s role in shaping the administration’s agenda and engaging with the American people.
As the administration continues to grapple with the challenges of maintaining a large and diverse White House staff, it will need to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of its approach as taxpayers struggle to make ends meet.
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