ATLANTA — Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has been tapped to join the White House as a senior aide.
Bottoms will replace Cedric Richmond and take on the role as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. The Hill reported Richmond left the White House last month.
According to a news release from the White House, the position "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."
Bottoms posted a report Tuesday evening and in the Instagram post, she said she was "#Honored."
Biden sent a statement on Wednesday saying:
“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."
It's not the first time her name has been mentioned in talks of high level positions in Washington.
The former mayor was once on a long list of potential Vice President nominees as President Joe Biden searched for his running mate. She also previously turned down an offer to be a part of Biden's cabinet after the 2020 election. At the time, her office told the Associated Press in a statement that she would remain focused "on the people of Atlanta and the great state of Georgia."
Earlier this year, Bottoms announced that she would be joining CNN as a political commentator, calling the move a "dream" job.
11Alive has reached out to White House officials to get more information about the position in Washington.
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