Additional Promotions Announced Ahead of 2022 Midterm Elections

Today, President Biden announced that Keisha Lance Bottoms will serve as Senior Advisor to the President for Public Engagement. In this role, Bottoms will oversee the White House Office of Public Engagement, which works at the local, state, and national levels to ensure community leaders, diverse perspectives, and new voices have the opportunity to inform the work of the President in an inclusive, transparent and responsible way.

Statement from President Biden: “Mayor Bottoms understands that democracy is about making government work for working families, for the people who are the backbone of this country. She led the city of Atlanta with strength through the pandemic, through a summer of protests and pain, and through the mass shooting that left Atlanta’s Asian American community in fear. Keisha is bright, honorable, tough and has the integrity required to represent our Administration to the American public. Jill and I have known Keisha for a long time and look forward to working with her more closely.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, Senior Advisor to the President for Public Engagement

Keisha Lance Bottoms is a CNN Political Commentator, based in Atlanta, Georgia, where she served as the 60th Mayor. She is a visionary leader in bringing equitable outcomes to the forefront of government and commerce. Keisha became the first Mayor in Atlanta’s history to have served in all three branches of government, having previously served as a Judge and a City Councilmember. As Mayor, she committed herself to realizing her vision of “One Atlanta” – an affordable, resilient, and equitable Atlanta.

Sworn in on January 2, 2018, Keisha served as Mayor during one of the most challenging times in the history of Atlanta. After dealing with a cyberattack that nearly crippled city operations, and in the midst of a global pandemic and a racial justice movement, Keisha became a leading spokesperson regarding the challenges and opportunities facing cities and leaders across America.

While navigating these unprecedented challenges, the Bottoms Administration was able to remain focused on the resilience of Atlanta, negotiating and closing the largest real estate redevelopment transaction in the history of Atlanta, and one of the largest in the Southeast United States, delivering millions of dollars in community benefits to people across the city.

Keisha took proactive measures to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the City and its agencies. As a result, during one of the worst economic downturns the world has ever faced, the Bottoms Administration delivered four years of balanced budgets, without resorting to property tax increases, layoffs or furloughs of City employees. At the conclusion of her term, the City’s reserves remained at a near high of $181M, far exceeding the requirements of the City Charter. The Bottoms Administration made historic strides related to criminal justice reform, became a model city for LGBTQ affairs, and reclaimed its title as running the world’s busiest and most efficient airport.

Shaped by a childhood and professional career that highlighted the inequalities amongst Americans, Keisha led her Administration in undertaking several major initiatives that would seek to eradicate systemic issues facing Atlanta, while creating a model for all cities to follow.

The President announced additional promotions to his senior team ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Statement from the President: “In advance of the midterms, I am proud to announce two historic promotions to our senior team. Stuart Delery and Julie Rodriguez are dedicated public servants that bring diverse perspectives and a shared commitment to tackling the critical issues our nation faces today. 

“I am immensely grateful for the service of Dana Remus, who has been an invaluable member of my senior staff for the past 3 years and helped reinstate a culture of adherence to the rule of law. I wish her the best as she moves forward.”

Stuart Delery, Assistant to the President and White House Counsel

The President announced that Stuart Delery will become the next Assistant to the President and White House Counsel. He will step into the role next month after Dana Remus departs the White House.

Stuart Delery currently serves as Deputy Counsel to the President, where he has advised on key Administration priorities including the COVID-19 response, the American Rescue Plan, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. Stuart is the former Acting Associate Attorney General of the United States, the third-ranking position at the U.S. Department of Justice, and is the most senior openly-LGBTQ+ official in DOJ history. Before that, Stuart served as Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, and supervised legal defense of Congressional statutes including the Affordable Care Act and agency actions, as well as the government-wide implementation of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on LGBTQ+ rights United States v. Windsor. Stuart has also worked as a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and WilmerHale. Stuart clerked for Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Byron White and Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the Eleventh Circuit. Originally from Louisiana, Stuart is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Yale Law School. Stuart and his husband live in Washington, D.C., and have two children.

Julie Rodriguez, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

The President announced that Julie Chavez Rodriguez will be promoted to Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President and continue serving as the Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. 

Julie Chavez Rodriguez currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, she served as a Deputy Campaign Manager on the Biden-Harris presidential campaign. Before that, she was the National Political Director and traveling Chief of Staff for then-Senator Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Before launching Senator Harris’ campaign, she served as California State Director in her Senate office. During the Obama-Biden Administration, Chavez Rodriguez served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Deputy Director of Public Engagement in the Office of Public Engagement. She also worked in the Department of the Interior as the Director of Youth Employment and as Deputy Press Secretary to former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. She is the former Director of Programs at the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation. A native of California, she is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

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