Biden Advance Team in Turmoil as Two Bosses Quit Under Fire: Report

The White House Counsel’s Office has opened an investigation into President Joe Biden’s advance team, and two members have already resigned, according to Politico. Ian Mellul, the former associate director of presidential advance, was accused of calling junior staffers “pieces of shit” and “worthless,” and having interns pick up his dry cleaning, Politico reports. He stepped down on March 1 after management training and an executive coach reportedly failed to solve the issue. He’s denied browbeating staffers, telling the site, “That is simply not true.” Brie Moore quit as director of press advance after complaints from the press corps; she did not respond to a request for comment. Asked about the team, which handles Biden’s travel events, Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates said, “We do not comment on personnel matters one way or another.” The exit of the two supervisors may not be the end of the strife: six current and former staffers told Politico that the man who oversaw the advance team, Ryan Montoya, didn’t respond to complaints aggressively enough—though a dozen Montoya and Mellul defenders contacted the site to sing their praises after the White House received a request for comment.