Deputy White House press secretary TJ Ducklo listens as press secretary Jen Psaki speaks at a press conference at the White House, Tuesday, February 9, 2021, in Washington.
Patrick Semansky | AP
President Joe Biden’s Deputy White House press secretary has been suspended without pay for a week after allegedly threatening a reporter.
TJ Ducklo, who was also Biden’s main campaign spokesperson, was given a seven-day leave after a Vanity Fair story describing a controversial conversation he had with a reporter. During that conversation, Ducklo reportedly said, “I will destroy you.”
According to the Vanity Fair story, White House officials were aware of Ducklo’s conversation with the reporter in January. The suspension comes hours after the publication of the Vanity Fair story Friday.
The reporter who allegedly threatened Ducklo was investigating Ducklo’s relationship with an Axios reporter who covered Biden.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a series of tweets on Friday that Ducklo has been banned and that he will no longer be able to speak to reporters at Politico.
Ducklo’s suspension comes weeks after Biden himself told a group of administration officials that he would fire anyone who treated another colleague with contempt.
“I’m not kidding when I say this: if you ever work with me and I hear you treat another coworker disrespectfully, talk down to someone, I’ll fire you right there. No ifs and buts,” Biden said last month .
Ducklo has reportedly made derogatory and misogynistic comments against the Politico reporter, who is a woman.
Ducklo, who did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment, was previously an NBC employee.