President-elect Joe Biden announced additional senior White House staff hires, tapping some of his longest-serving aides to serve alongside newer players in his orbit in key roles in the West Wing.
Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus who served as Biden’s campaign co-chair, will lead the White House Office of Public Engagement. The post gives him broad reach to help advance Biden’s agenda across the federal government and to work with state and local governments, and also as a "point of entry" for outside groups, according to Anita Dunn, a Biden transition adviser who also played a top campaign role.
“This new role will allow me to offer advice to the president when he wants, maybe sometimes when he doesn’t want it,” Richmond said. “I’ll also be in an office in the West Wing. When you talk about the needs of Louisiana, you want someone in the West Wing.”