Jen Psaki is the current White House press secretary; she has also worked numerous years as a political advisor, working in the Biden, Trump, and Obama Administrations. She has also served as a deputy press secretary among many other communications roles in various presidential administrations. She has also worked as a political contributor chiefly on the CNN Network.
Most will recognize Psaki as the current press secretary for the Biden Administration, and she typically provides daily press briefings. Psaki wrangles with reporters daily and can be considered the voice of the Administration.
| Celebrated Name: | Jen Psaki |
| Real Name/Full Name: | Jennifer Rene Psaki |
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 43 |
| Birthdate: | December 1, 1978 |
| Birthplace: | Stamford, Ct |
| Nationality: | American |
| Height: | 5 ft. 5 in. |
| Weight: | 130 lb. |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Husband/Spouse | Gregory Mecher |
| Children/Kids: | Two |
| Dating/Girlfriend Name: | N/A |
| Is Jen Psaki Gay? | No |
| Highest Political Office: | White House Press Secretary |
| Profession: | Political Advisor |
| Colleges Attended: | William and Mary |
| Degrees: | English and Sociology |
| Salary: | $180,000 as White House Press Secretary |
| Net Worth in 2021: | $2 million |
Biography: Early Life and Family
Jennifer Rene Psaki was born in Stamford, Connecticut on December 1, 1978. Her parents are Dimitrios R. Psaki (Mr. Psaki goes by the name “James”) and Eileen Dolen Medvey. Jen is the oldest of her siblings, all girls.
Jen’s father is currently retired; however, he worked as a real estate developer. Jen’s mother was a psychotherapist. Psaki can trace her ancestry back to Greece (her paternal grandfather came to the United States from Greece in 1904) as well as Poland and Ireland. Jen’s parents married in 1976, and welcomed her arrival two years later.
Jen grew up in Stamford; she attended Greenwich High School there, graduating in 1996. She would seek a double major at William and Mary; her degrees are in English and sociology. While attending William and Mary, Jen pledged the Chi Omega sorority. During her time at the college, Jen was a member of the William and Mary Tribe athletes. She was a competition backstroke swimmer for two years.
Personal Life
Jen Psaki is currently married to Greg Mecher. They wed on May 8, 2010 after four years. Mecher also works in politics. At the time they married, Mecher was the chief of staff for Congressman Steve Driehaus. Mecher has also served in the same position for Congressman Joe Kennedy.
Psaki and Mecher met in 2006 when working as a part of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
On Psaki’s Twitter account, she lists under her bio that she is “a mom to two humans under five.” We do know that she has one daughter named Genevieve, but no information is public regarding her second child.
Jen Psaki speaks almost daily during White House press briefings, and many of her sparring moments with Fox News‘ White House correspondent Peter Doocey are shown in clips across the news channels as well as the internet. Psaki took ten days off between November 2, 2021 and November 12, 2021 after announcing that she had tested positive for COVID-19. She claims she did not return to work until she was fully recovered, and she stated that her vaccination status ensured she had no complications.
Age, Height, and Weight
Jen Psaki is 43 years of age. She is 5’5″ and weighs 130 lbs.
Net Worth
Jen Psaki has worked in numerous roles in various presidential administrations from the Obama presidency to her present position in the Biden Administration. She was also a political contributor on CNN for several years. Her estimated net worth is $2 million.
Career Outside of Politics
Psaki has worked chiefly in politics since her graduation from William and Mary in 2000. She did work for CNN as a contributor for about four years before she became the White House Press Secretary in January of 2021.
Career in Politics
Jen Psaki is a registered Democrat, and she has chiefly worked under Democratic politicians during her career. In 2001, she worked on the political campaigns of two separate Iowa natives. She worked on the re-election campaign of Senator Tom Harkin as well as the on the gubernatorial campaign of Tom Vilsack. Both men won their respective campaigns.
During the 2004 election cycle, Psaki worked as a deputy press secretary for then-candidate John Kerry. Kerry would be the Democratic nominee that year, but he would concede the election to then-President George W. Bush.
After Kerry’s campaign ended, Psaki would become a regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a group of Congress members who worked to assist in the campaigns of current Democratic politicians as well as promote Democratic candidates in open seats across Congress.
Psaki also worked as a communications director for Congressman Joseph Crowley between 2005 – 2006.
Psaki would continue to work with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; it was during this time when she would meet her future husband, Greg Mecher.
However, during the 2008 election cycle, Psaki would join the Obama campaign. She was a traveling press secretary for then-candidate Obama, and she would permanently join the Obama Administration as soon as he was elected. She was a Deputy Press Secretary for the Obama Administration initially, but she would later be promoted to the position of Deputy Communications Director. She worked for the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2011 in this position.
In September of 2011, Jen Psaki would leave the position with the Obama Administration to work with the public relations organization Global Strategy Group. Here, she was a senior vice president and managing director at the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.
She would not stay outside of politics for very long. In less than six months, Psaki was invited to be the press secretary for the 2012 re-election campaign of Barack Obama. Obama would win re-election, and he would ask Psaki to work in his administration once more. By February 2013, Psaki would be the spokesperson for the United States State Department.
When Psaki returned to the Obama Administration, rumors flew that she would soon replace then-White House Press Secretary Jay Carney when he left the position. However, eventually Josh Earnest would take Carney’s job and Psaki remained in her existing position.
In 2015, Jen Psaki would rejoin Obama’s communications team. At this time, she was a communications director. She would remain in the director position until the end of the Obama presidency in January 2016.
Within a year, Psaki was making regular appearances on CNN as a political contributor. She stayed with CNN until after the 2020 election was completed and Joe Biden was deemed the winner.
Jen Psaki was asked to be a part of the Biden and Harris transition team. She left the CNN contributor position and worked as the new administration prepared for the January inauguration. By the end of November 2020, Psaki had accepted a position as the White House Press Secretary, which Psaki currently holds.
Psaki’s first briefing was held on the eve of the Biden-Harris inauguration, January 20, 2021.
Jen Psaki has said that she plans to remain the White House Press Secretary for at least one or two years. She told David Axelrod in an interview on May 6, 2021 that her plan was to leave the press secretary position “in about a year or two from now.” However, there are rumors that she will remain in the position for at least one year longer.
Psaki has had her share of controversy as White House Press Secretary. She faces daily questions from reporters who inquire about the amount of questions that President Biden does or does not take during his personal appearances. There are reporters who question Psaki on Biden policies, particularly about the vaccine mandate, COVID numbers, and the controversial Build Back Better legislation.
Psaki is highly adept at keeping her composure with a White House Presidential Correspondent group that is not always favorable of the current president or his policies. Psaki took questions daily during the United States’ abrupt departure from Afghanistan in August 2021.
The press corps will ask Psaki questions that seem out of her purview, particularly those regarding President Biden’s feelings on certain issues. Psaki is consistently prepared with answers. However, this is likely a response to criticism early in Psaki’s tenure as Press Secretary. For some answers, Psaki would answer reporters that she would need to “circle back” to that topic at a later time. Psaki used the phrase repeatedly, and social media even made light of her attempt at being professional during press briefings.
Psaki was also criticized in October and early November 2021 when she made comments regarding candidates in the Virginia gubernatorial race. Some political watchdog groups made comments that Psaki might have violated the Hatch Act with these comments. These groups took comments made by Psaki as an endorsement of then-candidate Terry McAuliffe, which violates the Hatch Act’s mandate that no federal employee may engage in political work while on the job. However, this chatter died down soon after McAuliffe was defeated by political newbie Glenn Youngkin.
