White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo resigned a day after being suspended for making a sexist and profane threat to a journalist who asked about his relationship with another reporter.
In a statement on Saturday, Ducklo said he was “devastated to embarrass and disappoint my White House colleagues and President Biden.”
“No words can express my grief, my embarrassment and my disgust for my behavior,” he said. “I used language that no woman should hear from anyone, especially in a situation where she was just trying to do her job. It was an abominable, disrespectful and unacceptable language. “
It is the new government’s first departure, less than a month after President Joe Biden’s term, and it comes at a time when the White House faced criticism for not following the standards set by Biden himself in his decision to keep Ducklo.
During a virtual inauguration for the team on opening day, Biden said: “If you work with me and I hear that you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk to someone, I will fire you immediately. I don’t want any excuses. “
Ducklo was suspended for a week without pay on Friday after a report appeared on Vanity Fair describing his sexist threats against a Politico journalist to try to suppress a story about his relationship, telling her “I will destroy you”.
The journalist sought to report on his relationship with an Axios political reporter who had previously covered Biden’s campaign and transition.
Before Politico released the story on Tuesday, People Magazine published a brilliant profile of the relationship. It was the first time that any of them publicly acknowledged that they were dating.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki faced a barrage of questions about the controversy on Friday, with reporters highlighting Biden’s comments and questioning the decision to simply suspend Ducklo for a week.
Faced with the president’s comments, Psaki said on Friday that Ducklo’s conduct “does not meet our standards, does not meet the president’s standards, and it was important that we take a step to make that clear.”
She pointed out the apologies made by key members of the White House communication team and Ducklo himself to the Politico reporter as broad measures reflecting the seriousness of the situation.
On Saturday, Psaki said in a statement that Ducklo’s decision came with the support of the White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, and added that “we are committed to working every day to meet the standard set by the president in treating others with dignity and respect, with civility and with a value for others through our words and actions ”.