Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has officially severed ties with the Democratic Party, announcing her new independent political affiliation ahead of the release of her upcoming book.
The memoir, titled “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines”, is set to hit shelves in October and promises a searing critique of the Biden administration and the Democratic Party’s inner workings.
According to the book’s publisher, Legacy Lit, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, Jean-Pierre will explore the final three weeks leading up to President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election—a decision made following a widely panned debate performance that intensified scrutiny of his age and cognitive fitness.
“She didn’t come to her decision to be an Independent lightly,” the publisher notes, indicating a dramatic shift for Jean-Pierre, who has spent decades inside the Democratic political establishment.
The move is a striking reversal for a political operative who served as the face of the Biden White House for over two years and previously worked on the Biden-Harris 2020 campaign, in the Obama administration, and with the progressive advocacy group MoveOn.
In a statement to CNN, Jean-Pierre said:
“Until January 20, I was responsible for speaking on behalf of the President of the United States. At noon on that day, I became a private citizen who, like all Americans and many of our allies around the world, had to contend with what was to come next for our country. We need to be clear-eyed and questioning, rather than blindly loyal and obedient as we may have been in the past.”
Her comments suggest a disillusionment with partisan politics and a desire to encourage voters to look beyond the entrenched two-party system—an increasingly resonant theme among Americans dissatisfied with both major parties.
The book is expected to reignite debate within the Democratic Party about President Biden’s 2024 campaign, which ended in failure after Vice President Kamala Harris took over the ticket and ultimately lost to President Donald Trump.
Jean-Pierre also faced sharp criticism during her tenure for repeatedly deflecting concerns about Biden’s mental and physical fitness.
In hindsight, those moments may take on new meaning as she reframes her role within what she now labels a “broken” system.
