Black Biden staff fleeing

More than 20 black White House aides have departed the Biden administration since late last year, an exodus some have dubbed “Blaxit,” according to a new report.

While some of the departing staffers have left on good terms to pursue additional career or educational opportunities, others have attributed the turnover to a lack of mentorship and opportunity, Politico reported Tuesday, citing nine black current and former White House officials.

“We’re here and we’re doing a lot of work but we’re not decision-makers and there’s no real path towards becoming decision-makers,” one current staffer told the outlet. “There is no real feedback and there’s no clear path to any kind of promotions.”

“They brought in a ton of black people generally to start without ever establishing an infrastructure to retain them or help them be successful,” another current official said. “If there is no clear infrastructure of how to be successful, you become just as invisible in this space than you would be if you were not in it.”

Some “people have not had the best experiences and a lot of that has to do with the dearth of black leadership,” a former official agreed. “Think about any workplace. Black folks need some person to go to, to strategize and be a mentor, and we just don’t have as many folks who can be mentors to us.”

The administration has defended the exits, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre telling Politico, “This is a normal time for turnover across the board in any administration and black staff have been promoted at a higher rate than staff who are not diverse.”