Politics

REPORT: Biden Expected To Name Three More Top White House Aides

(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
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President-elect Joe Biden will reportedly announce Tuesday that three of his top campaign aides — Jen O’Malley Dillon, Steven Richetti, and Democratic Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond — will accept positions in his administration.

Numerous reports indicate that O’Malley Dillon, formerly Beto O’Rourke’s campaign manager during the primaries and Biden’s campaign manager thereafter, will serve as deputy chief of staff under Ron Klain. Richmond and Richetti, formerly Biden’s campaign co-chair and campaign adviser, will reportedly serve in senior adviser roles. (RELATED: Joe Biden Names Ron Klain, Obama’s Ebola Czar, His White House Chief Of Staff)

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is greeted by US Congressman Cedric Richmond, D-LA as he arrives in Columbus, Georgia, on October 27, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is greeted by US Congressman Cedric Richmond, D-LA as he arrives in Columbus, Georgia, on October 27, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Richmond, according to Politico, will particularly be charged with “public engagement” with both Congress and outside groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Politico additionally noted Tuesday morning that Richmond has strong ties with both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Democratic South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn called Richmond’s addition “great.” Clyburn’s endorsement during the Democratic primary helped carry Biden to overwhelming victory on Super Tuesday and, eventually, the party’s nomination.

President Donald Trump’s administration has spent the days following the night of the election resisting Biden’s efforts to collaborate on the presidential transition process.

“More people may die if we don’t coordinate. Look, as my chief of staff Ron Klain would say, who handled ebola, a vaccine is important,” Biden told reporters Monday. “It’s of little use until you’re vaccinated.”

“It’s important that it be done, that there be coordination now. Now or as rapidly as we can get that done.”

WATCH:

Though the bulk of Biden’s cabinet picks aren’t expected to be made until Thanksgiving, he tapped Klain — a longtime adviser dating back to his days as a Democratic senator from Delaware — to serve as his White House chief of staff on Wednesday.

“Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together, including as we rescued the American economy from one of the worst downturns in our history in 2009 and later overcame a daunting public health emergency in 2014,” Biden said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “His deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again.”