WASHINGTON — Cedric Richmond, a former congressman who became a top aide to President Joe Biden, will leave the White House to join the Democratic National Committee as the party faces the possible loss of both houses of Congress in November’s midterm elections, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Richmond, who headed the White House Office of Public Engagement, will soon begin going around the country to help raise campaign funds and promote the party’s message heading into the fall, the person said.
He will be working with DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. Richmond, who represented a district in Louisiana, advised the president on major legislation as well as coronavirus vaccination programs and took part in the campaign to get Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed to the Supreme Court.
The departure of Richmond represents a loss of a close and trusted aide and counselor to the president, as he grapples with trying to retain majorities and win passage of other parts of his agenda through a bitterly divided partisan Congress.
The Democrats, who hold very narrow majorities in both the House and Senate, face major challenges as the election season gets underway, including surging inflation, rising crime, the persistence of the coronavirus as well as Biden’s anemic approval ratings.
Richmond, in a statement provided by the White House, said, “I am thrilled that the president has entrusted me with helping boost the robust work already being done at the DNC to make sure that Democrats grow their majorities in the House and Senate, and increase the number of Democratic governors in state capitals around the country.”
Harrison, in his statement, said of Richmond, “there are few people more capable of helping us continue to build on our successes.”
