The White House has been adding more jobs to its scheduling and advance team, a sign that President Biden is ramping up for a robust travel schedule in the coming months as he readies for a fierce reelection battle against former President Trump.
Sources familiar with internal dynamics at the White House tell The Hill there have been additional job openings available, creating a larger advance team for the White House than in previous years.
The White House is directing its limited head count, particularly prized during an election year, to the advance office, signaling travel as a priority.
“This is a sign of all systems go,” said one source familiar with the thinking of Biden and his team. “They’re preparing for what’s ahead, and there’s going to be a lot of travel, a lot of messaging events in the near future.”
A White House official confirmed that several positions would be added to the team but would not provide an exact number. But the official said it’s a small percentage of the overall team at the White House.
The openings in the scheduling and advance department —the team that plans, designs, and creates events before the president makes a public appearance — signals a significant shift from the nature of the presidential contest between Biden and Trump in 2020.
In that battle, held during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic before there were vaccines for the disease, Biden was seen as largely campaigning from the basement of his Wilmington, Del., home.
It was a reality that was initially seen as a limitation for Biden, but that ended up being a strength by putting more of the public’s focus on Trump — creating a referendum on his handling of the country.
In 2024, Trump is seeking to make the election a referendum on Biden, and the travel office moves signal his team realizes it will need to be on the road to win reelection for the president.
“As you saw when the President took his State of the Union vision all over the country — talking about an economy based on the middle class and protecting our core freedoms like choice — Joe Biden thrives on getting outside Washington and hearing directly from the American people,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. “He’s looking forward to more.”
One source familiar with the planning said the Biden campaign is also building out its advance operation, in parallel with the White House doing the same.
As the general election begins, Biden has already begun to embrace a hardy travel schedule. Last week, he traveled to Nevada and Arizona — two important states in his reelection bid. He then capped his trip in Texas, where he held fundraisers in Houston and Dallas.
This week, Biden — along with Vice President Harris —will travel to North Carolina, another state the Biden campaign is trying to put in its column. Later in the week, he will travel to New York City for a major fundraiser alongside former Presidents Obama and Clinton at Radio City Music Hall.
The additions in the advance office will be for domestic travel, with Biden’s overseas travel before November expected to be thin. To date, the only expected travel will be to the G7 summit, which will take place in Italy in June.
The investment in the advance team comes on the heels of some turmoil in the department.
Earlier this month, Politico reported that the White House counsel’s office opened an investigation into a White House aide who had been accused by his fellow staffers of verbal harassment.
The investigation resulted in the resignation of Ian Mellul, who served as the associate director of presidential advance. Brie Moore, who served as the director of press advance, also resigned recently after facing criticism from members of the press corps about poor behavior toward them.
But the increase in jobs on the advance team is being seen as a plus for Biden, who is trailing in the polls in key states and whose presidential approval rating is underwater.
A CNN approval rating released last week showed that only 37 percent of those surveyed approved of Biden’s performance.
To win, Biden will have to take his message on the road to voters in states including Michigan and Wisconsin and lay out what he has accomplished and what’s to come.
“He needs to be out there more, speaking directly to the people at message events,” the first source said. “That’s why we need more people on the ground to be firing on all cylinders.”