WASHINGTON — Karine Jean-Pierre will make history by becoming the first Black woman, and first openly LGBTQ person, to hold the job of White House press secretary, President Biden announced on Thursday afternoon.

“Jill and I have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this Administration,” the president said in a statement.

For much of the past two years, America has been first in line for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Now, as drugmakers develop the next generation of therapies, the White House is warning that if Congress doesn’t act urgently the U.S. will have to take a number.

When Psaki began her gig as White House press secretary, she was invincible.

After her very first briefing last January, Brian Karem of Playboy wrote that Psaki had “mastered subtlety and professionalism.” “Psaki Bomb” trended on Twitter on a weekly basis. CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter’s Reliable Sources produced the following chyron:

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, broke down in tears during an interview in which she condemned the “cruelty” of a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation sweeping Republican states.

Known for her toughness at the briefing room podium, Psaki showed a more emotional side during the discussion with Jessica Yellin, host of the News Not Noise podcast, in an interview released on Tuesday.

Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki's use of her official position to disparage the competitor of her prospective future employer warrants an investigation by the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Justice, a watchdog group said Tuesday.

Huge, multi-mile traffic jams at numerous U.S. border crossings in Mexico worsened Wednesday as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) largely kept in place his new restrictions that require secondary inspections of commercial trucks and other vehicles.

The new policy, announced last week, has led some truckers to remain snarled in traffic for more than 30 hours, prompting desperate pleas from fruit and vegetable importers, the auto industry and other executives who said their products are being caught up in a political standoff.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is vowing to continue the truck inspections that have snarled traffic at the Texas-Mexico border until there is action from both President Biden and Mexican officials to stem the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern border.

Abbott spoke Wednesday as he signed a memorandum of understanding with the governor of Nuevo Leon that would see inspections stopped at the bridge in Laredo in return for what he called "enhanced border security enforcement measures" at the ports of entry and along the Rio Grande from Nuevo Leon.

Gov. Greg Abbott lifted enhanced inspections at one border crossing Wednesday, after Nuevo León Governor Samuel García agreed to establish checkpoints and patrols to prevent unauthorized border crossings into Texas.

But truckers continued to wait hours to cross at the Ysleta and the Bridge of the Americas ports of entry in El Paso. 

The Biden administration is claiming that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's inspection of trucks entering the U.S. from Mexico is not only "unnecessary," but contributing to inflation throughout the country.

In a statement issued Wednesday morning, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the delays caused by Abbott's policies were having far-reaching impacts. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki looks set to leave her job soon — but it’s her next move that’s causing controversy.

Psaki is expected to go to MSNBC, where it appears likely she will host a show, perhaps on the streaming platform Peacock.

The problem isn’t that someone with a high-profile political role is on the cusp of getting a cable news gig. That is a very well-trodden path.