Former Atlanta mayor to join Biden’s White House staff

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) will join the White House in the coming days as director of the Office of Public Engagement, a White House official confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

Bottoms will replace Cedric Richmond, who left the White House last month, as one of President Biden’s top advisers in the West Wing. The Office of Public Engagement is tasked with engaging with the public about the White House’s agenda.

Elected in 2017, Bottoms served one term as mayor of Atlanta and gained prominence for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic in the city before opting not to run for reelection.

Bottoms was floated as a potential running mate for Biden before he picked Vice President Harris.

Biden in 2021 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.