There is a new addition joining the White House, as former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is the new director of the Office of Public Engagement, according to a White House official speaking to The Hill on Tuesday.
The Democrat will replace Cedric Richmond, who left the White House last month and was one of President Joe Biden’s top advisers in the West Wing. For those unaware, the Office of Public Engagement is tasked with engaging with the public about the White House’s agenda.
Bottoms, who was elected by the city of Atlanta in 2017, served only one term as mayor and gained prominence for how she handled the coronavirus pandemic in the city before opting not to run for reelection.
Her name was floated by Washington insiders as a potential running mate for Biden before he settled on Kamala Harris to be his VP. In 2021, Biden appointed Bottoms to serve as the vice chairwoman of civic engagement and voter protection at the Democratic National Committee.
Axios reported that Bottoms has committed to serve at least through the November midterm elections.
The White House is seeking to convince voters its agenda is working and that it will chart the right path as the country deals with significant inflation, particularly high gas prices.