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Senior adviser and chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, Symone Sanders, is leaving the White House at the end of the year.
"Symone has served honorably for three years," a source told CNN. "The President and vice president are grateful for Symone's service and advocacy for this White House. She is a valued member, a team player, and she will be missed. We are grateful to have her working through the end of the year."
After serving as a political commentator for CNN, Sanders joined President Joe Biden's presidential campaign as senior adviser in 2020. She then moved to the transition team and later became deputy assistant to the president and senior adviser and chief spokesperson to the vice president.
In a letter to her colleagues, shared with CNN, Sanders confirmed her exit on Wednesday night (December 1). "I'm so grateful to the VP for her vote of confidence from the very beginning and the opportunity to see what can be unburdened by what has been. I'm grateful for [Harris chief of staff] Tina [Flournoy] and her leadership and her confidence as well," she wrote. "Every day, I arrived to the White House complex knowing our work made a tangible difference for Americans. I am immensely grateful and will miss working for her and with all of you."
Flournoy also penned a note, per Politico, to the Vice President's communication team, writing, "Symone told the VP a couple months ago that she'd be leaving us at the end of the year. I've often said about her that no job is too big or too small for Symone."
Sanders' exit will mark the second departure of a senior member of Harris' communications team in recent months. Ashley Etienne, Harris' communications director, is set to leave her post in the coming weeks "to pursue other opportunities," a White House official previously said.
Sanders' announcement comes after reports of internal friction in Harris' office.