Kerry picks new State Department spokesperson, says official February 13, 2013 -- Updated 2028 GMT (0428 HKT) Secretary of State John Kerry has asked Jen Psaki to be new spokesperson for State Department, said official Psaki was President Obama's deputy communications director and worked with then-Sen. Kerry on his 2004 election bid Psaki will be briefed over the coming days on the issues (CNN) -- Secretary of State John Kerry has asked his "old communicator and colleague," Jen Psaki, to be the new spokesperson for the State Department, said a senior State Department official who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to talk about the position. Kerry on his 2004 election bid. Most recently she has been senior vice president and managing director with the Global Strategy Group. The official said Psaki will be briefed over the coming days on the issues that she will deal with at the State Department. Psaki will begin to brief reporters, the official said, when she is versed in the issues. We will make the decision based on her comfort, when she's ready to fly the podium she will fly it. The current spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, a career Foreign Service officer and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, will return to the Foreign Service in a "policy role."