WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s domestic policy adviser, Susan Rice, is leaving her post, the White House announced Monday.
Rice oversaw a broad portfolio of policy issues and was at the center of controversy on some, including immigration and the Southwest border. Biden, in a statement, praised her work on health care, gun violence, student debt relief, migration and other key items on his agenda.
“There is no one more capable, and more determined to get important things done for the American people than Susan Rice,” Biden said in a statement.
Rice’s last day will be May 26, according to senior administration officials. Biden will consider people from inside and outside the White House to replace Rice, the officials said.
Before entering the Biden White House, Rice’s background was primarily in foreign policy. She served as United Nations ambassador and national security adviser to President Barack Obama. She is the only person to serve both as national security adviser and domestic policy adviser, the White House said.
Biden considered making Rice his running mate during the 2020 campaign before choosing then-California Sen. Kamala Harris. She was also a candidate to become his secretary of state nominee before she was tapped to lead the Domestic Policy Council.
Rice has come under fire from immigrant rights activists who say she slow-walked efforts to roll back some Trump-era immigration policies. The New York Times reported she blamed the United States’ “generosity” toward unaccompanied children for a surge in border crossings in 2021. Many migrant children, who have come to the US in record numbers, have ended up in grueling jobs in violation of child labor laws, The Times reported.
Biden said that on Rice’s watch, his administration “reversed the harmful immigration policies of the previous administration,” reunified more than 670 children separated from their families under former President Donald Trump, “and rebuilt the broken system of care for unaccompanied children.”
Rice’s departure date means she will remain on the job when pandemic-era border controls, known as Title 42, end on May 11. Rice has helped craft the administration’s policy response to handle an expected influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border when the restrictions lift.
NBC News reported earlier on Rice’s departure.
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