The White House is pushing back on a report from Axios claiming that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is preventing national security council spokesman John Kirby from participating in press briefings.

Axios notes Mr. Kirby has been “mostly absent in the briefing room” in the last two months despite the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Mr. Kirby is ostensibly the administration’s primary spokesman on foreign affairs.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from the Sun by the time of publication. However, in a statement to Axios, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said the report is “not true.” He added that Ms. Jean-Pierre and Mr. Kirby have a “respectful relationship” and that reports of a conflict between them are “inaccurate.”

A spokesperson for the National Security Council told Axios, “Karine and John have critical jobs working together to inform the American people about the President’s foreign policy agenda and the steps he is taking every day to keep the American people safe.”

Additionally, the outlet cited “one person familiar with the dynamic” who said Mr. Kirby’s decreased presence in the run-up to the election was “always planned.” According to Axios, Mr. Kirby has only appeared at three of 20 briefings since July 30, when senior communications aide Anita Dunn left the White House. 

By contrast, the national security spokesman made an appearance in 35 of 64 press briefings before July 30. 

Ms. Jean-Pierre has repeatedly “pushed back” when Mr. Kirby suggested that he attend a briefing over the last two months, according to Axios. The tension has reached the chief of staff, Jeff Zients, who has had to get involved in the decision. 

Multiple press reports have suggested there is tension between Mr. Kirby and Ms. Jean-Pierre over how their responsibilities are divided and who is really in charge in the briefing room. In January, Axios reported that the two were at odds over who gets more time at the press briefing lectern. 

Mr. Kirby typically handled questions about foreign policy, specifically the Israel-Hamas war, while Ms. Jean-Pierre handled questions about domestic matters. However, President Biden reportedly has favored the national security spokesman and asked him for personal briefings. 

Mr. Kirby became a fairly regular addition to the briefing after Hamas’ October 7 attack. However, his frequent appearances also came as Ms. Jean-Pierre faced heavy criticism for her job performance as press secretary.

The New York Post reported in April that several top White House aides were growing frustrated with the press secretary’s habit of reading answers from a set of prepared notes in a binder, which they viewed as holding her back from providing a more robust defense of Mr. Biden ahead of the election.

According to the Post, several aides worked in secret to find a way to nudge her out of the position, but they failed. The White House has called that report “wildly false.”

Despite the reported frustrations with Ms. Jean-Pierre’s job performance, she was named a senior adviser to Mr. Biden last week.