T.J. Ducklo, the Deputy Press Secretary of the Biden Administration, has resigned after fallout from a scandal and his subsequent reaction to its initial unearthing by a reporter, as reported by Breitbart.
The scandal revolved around Ducklo’s relationship with an Axios reporter, Alexi McCammond, who was assigned to cover Biden’s presidential campaign while Ducklo was the campaign’s national press secretary. Eventually, Politico reporter Tara Palmeri discovered their relationship and planned to write a story on it. When Palmeri called Ducklo for comment, an enraged Ducklo threatened to “destroy” Palmeri’s career, and mocked her for allegedly being jealous of their relationship, as well as supposedly being rejected by another man who also wanted a relationship with McCammond instead of her.
Palmeri reported the heated exchange to her editor, who subsequently spoke to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. Although Psaki and other senior White House communications officials, including Ducklo, privately apologized to Politico editors, they also attempted to defend Ducklo by pointing out that his conversation with Palmeri had technically been “off-the-record,” and that Palmeri had violated that code.
After initial backlash once the story went public, Psaki announced on Friday that Ducklo would be suspended for a week without pay. Ducklo’s resignation was then announced the next day.
In his resignation letter, Ducklo described his behavior as “abhorrent, disrespectful, and unacceptable,” adding that “no words can express my regret, embarrassment, and disgust for my behavior.” Psaki confirmed his resignation on Saturday, saying that “we are committed to striving every day to meet the standard set by the president in treating others with dignity and respect.”