Long-time Harris aide and director of speechwriting departing vice president’s office

By Jasmine Wright, CNN

Rohini Kosoglu, one of Vice President Kamala Harris’ longest serving aides, will be departing the office in the coming weeks after nearly six years by her side, a White House official told CNN.

And in another departure, a White House official confirmed CNN that director of speechwriting Meghan Groob is also leaving. Groob was in her position less than four months, after taking over for Kate Childs Graham who announced her departure in February. Politico first reported on the exit.

The departures come after Harris faced a series of staff departures in her office late last year and into the beginning of 2022.

Kosoglu served as Harris’ domestic policy adviser after serving as a senior adviser to Harris during the transition and serving as chief of staff in both her Senate office and past presidential campaign.

Harris, in a statement to CNN, praised Kosoglu and said she would remain “a valued advisor and friend.”

“Rohini Kosoglu is a brilliant and trusted leader who has been at my side for years from the US Senate to the campaign trail to the White House. She has brought vision, strategic judgment, and a depth of experience as our administration has addressed some of the most urgent challenges facing our nation. She is an exceptional public servant and I am enormously grateful for her service. Rohini will remain a valued advisor and friend,” Harris said.

Kosoglu most recently led the vice president’s office on maternal health and reproductive rights, the policy adviser at the front of Harris’ efforts to protect the rights to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

The Washington Post was first to report Kosoglu’s departure.

The White House overall has seen a wave of staff departures as Democrats head into campaign season for the midterms. From the West Wing, multiple of mid-level aides have also moved to more high-profile jobs in the administration. And most recently, Biden’s communications director Kate Bedingfield announced she would be leaving.

A person widely seen as Bedingfield’s likely replacement is Liz Allen, another longtime Biden loyalist who worked for him when he was vice president and was also deputy communications director for former President Barack Obama. She was also tasked with working with Harris after she was chosen to be Biden’s vice presidential running mate.

For Kosoglu, no immediate successor was announced by the White House. Her departure adds to the growing list of long-time aides who are leaving the the vice president’s employ.

In March, deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh announced her departure for the office. She had served Harris since just after she exited the Democratic presidential primary race in 2019. A newer staffer, Harris’ chief of staff Tina Flournoy, announced she was leaving in April after joining during the transition. Former Harris press secretary Symone Sanders and communications director Ashley Etienne both announced they were leaving in late 2021.

Their departures were followed by a series of staff shakeups, with a new communications team focused in part on improving Harris’ image, which had suffered after a string of gaffes and reports of office dysfunction.

In recent months, aides have viewed Harris’ second year as a particularly successful one buoyed by drama-free foreign trips and renewed focus on domestic issues like access to abortion.

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments Friday.

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