White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday declined to say why press officer TJ Ducklo was not immediately fired for abusive language against a reporter, given President Biden’s promise to fire aides ” on the spot “disrespectful.
Asked why Ducklo from the White House was not summarily dismissed, Psaki said his resignation was “something we all agree on”.
“He is no longer employed here and I think that speaks for itself,” said Psaki of Ducklo’s actions.
“If you’re working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk to someone, I promise I’ll fire you on the spot,” Biden told the team last month.
On Friday, Psaki said Ducklo would be suspended for a week without pay and would no longer be able to interact with Politico reporters after mistreating reporter Tara Palmeri nearly a month ago. A day later, she announced her resignation.
Ducklo was not formally punished until the report of his actions was made public. When a Politico editor contacted the White House after the Ducklo and Palmeri call, Ducklo apologized to Palmeri.
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“The president leads by example and I try to do the same. On Saturday, when we announced that TJ Ducklo had resigned – something that we all agree is the right way to go – I made it clear that every day we would try to meet the standard set by president in treating others with dignity and respect with civility. ”
Ducklo was not punished until the report of his actions was made public. When a Politico editor contacted the White House after the Ducklo and Palmeri call, Ducklo apologized to Palmeri.
Ducklo, 32, worked as an assistant press secretary at the White House after actively participating in Biden’s press team during the campaign.
His resignation came after a Vanity Fair revelation that he attempted to intimidate Palmeri to nullify his story about his relationship with Axios reporter Alexi McCammond, who at the time was covering the White House and Biden’s campaign.
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“I will destroy you,” Ducklo told Palmeri, in case she published the story. Ducklo would also have used vulgar language to tell Palmeri that she was only chasing the story because she was jealous of McCammond.
The next day, Politico’s Playbook column, which Palmeri helps write, questioned whether Biden’s promise to fire disrespectful advisers applied to “how mid-level press officers treat reporters.”
Before Politico wrote 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.
Ducklo said in a statement that he has decided to resign and will not return from administrative leave.
“I used language that no woman should hear from anyone, especially in a situation where she was just trying to do her job,” said Ducklo. “It was an abominable, disrespectful and unacceptable language.”
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It is the first departure of the new administration, less than a month after Biden’s term.
Bradford Betz of Fox News contributed to this report.