The White House has now begun officially referring to President Joe Biden’s administration as the “Biden-Harris administration” and has instructed federal agencies to begin referring to it as such as well.
The move is designed to elevate the status of Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a federal employee who shared an email with Outspoken.
“Please be sure to reference the current administration as the ‘Biden-Harris Administration’ in official public communications,” says the email, with “Biden-Harris Administration” in bold letters.
The White House’s official Twitter account is also now reflecting the unprecedented change.
“Big news: The Biden-Harris Administration set a new record this weekend with 6 million shots reported administered. We’re ramping up vaccination efforts every day to get America vaccinated quickly and equitably,” a tweet noted Tuesday afternoon.
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“The highly specific language also appears on the websites of all 15 executive departments. Press releases and other communications from the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General all exclusively refer to the Biden-Harris Administration, in lieu of only naming the president, which has been customary until now,” Outspoken noted.
In addition, the outlet reported, the “Biden-Harris Administration” designation also applies to any agency that works with the federal government. For instance, the email provided to the outlet by the federal employee, who requested anonymity, was sent to an agency Congress established that deals with foreign relations but isn’t part of the State Department.
The change in phraseology comes as questions about Biden’s mental and physical health exploded again following his repeated stumbling up the steps of Air Force One on Friday. The White House tried to say that the wind contributed to Biden’s fall, but that explanation was dismissed by critics as implausible. Biden’s spill up the steps to the presidential plane follows an incident in December when he said he fractured his foot chasing his dog.