A former top official from President Joe Biden’s administration has joined CNN as a political commentator.
Jamal Simmons, former Deputy Assistant to President Biden and former Communications Director to Vice President Kamala Harris, will be an on-air political commentator for CNN, the network announced on Thursday.
CNN described the former Biden-Harris official as having been “at the nexus of politics and media for three decades.”
“Prior to serving in the Biden-Harris White House, he was a political contributor for CBS News and NPR. Prior to CBS, he hosted digital interviews for Hill TV with political leaders and celebrities. Simmons joined Hill TV from the Raben Group, where he advised corporate, political and foundation leaders for nearly a decade,” CNN’s announcement read.
“During the 2008 presidential primaries Simmons was a prominent Obama campaign surrogate and senior advisor to the Democratic National Committee. Before that, he was a press secretary for two presidential primary campaigns, communications director for a U.S. Senate race and managed the national state media operation for Gore/Lieberman 2000. He also served as a Gore spokesman in W. Palm Beach during the Florida recount.”
According to CNN, Simmons first entered politics in 1992 working for former President Bill Clinton’s campaign staff. Simmons also set up events for the Clinton White House around the world. In multiple Clinton administration roles, Simmons “represented the U.S. government in 15 countries including Bosnia, Ukraine, Haiti, and China.”
“Simmons has written opinion pieces for Democracy: A Journal of Ideas and The New York Times. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation Board (honorary). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College and a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School,” CNN added.
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
