This is another example of our taxpayer money being wasted yet again.
President Biden’s administration has established itself with a notable distinction in White House staffing. Since taking office in 2021, the Biden White House has seen substantial turnover, amounting to 77% of its initial staff. Currently, the administration employs 565 staffers, costing approximately $61 million annually, as reported by Open the Books. This marks a slight increase from Biden’s first year in office, which had set a record with 560 staffers.
The size of President Biden’s staff is the largest seen since the Nixon administration, making him the first president since Nixon to exceed 500 staffers. Nixon’s staffing was famously characterized by Time magazine in 1971 as growing “with startling rapidity,” echoing the current expansion under Biden.
First Lady Jill Biden also commands a substantial staff of 24, comparable to the 2009 count of Michelle Obama’s staff and significantly more than Melania Trump’s peak of 11 staffers. This team supports various facets of the First Lady’s initiatives, including foreign policy, education, and healthcare, amounting to $2.5 million in expenditures.
Comparatively, President Biden’s staffing and payroll figures surpass those of recent predecessors. For instance, in Fiscal Year 2020, former President Trump employed 413 staffers, while former President Obama had 468 in Fiscal Year 2012. Biden’s current payroll stands at $60.8 million, exceeding adjusted figures for both Obama ($58.3 million) and Trump ($52.2 million) at their highest points.
Key members of Biden’s staff include Michelle Barrans, the highest-paid at $251,258, serving as an associate counsel from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following closely is Farah Ahmad, earning $191,900 as a special advisor for economic development.
Despite the growth in staffing, the Biden administration has experienced significant turnover, with 435 of the initial 560 employees having departed since the start of his term. Responding to inquiries from Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson acknowledged a 9% increase in staff from the previous year, attributing it largely to expanding teams focused on specific policy areas such as pandemic preparedness and gun violence prevention.
Moreover, the spokesperson noted that recent hires have filled vacancies across various departments, not reflected in the most recent report. This dynamic illustrates the administration’s ongoing efforts to shape its operational structure and policy priorities through strategic staffing adjustments.