Biden senior adviser Mitch Landrieu leaving administration to take on campaign role

Mitch Landrieu, who for the past two years has overseen the implementation of a major infrastructure law, is leaving the White House and is expected to join President Biden’s reelection campaign.

Biden confirmed Landrieu’s departure from the administration in a statement Monday in which the president highlighted the former New Orleans mayor’s contributions.

“When I passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I knew I needed someone by my side who would help deliver real results for the American people,” Biden said in a statement. “I knew that Mitch Landrieu, a former Mayor and Lieutenant Governor who spent over a decade helping rebuild New Orleans, was the man to help me rebuild the country. Mitch has always known that the real measure of success is not about scoring partisan points — it’s about building bridges, and fixing the problem at hand.”

Landrieu, who served as mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018, is poised to take on a major role in Biden’s reelection operation. A spokesperson confirmed Landrieu will serve as a national co-chair for the Biden campaign. Axios first reported on the planned move.

Landrieu has spent the past two years meeting with state and local officials and overseeing the implementation of the infrastructure law, which has so far helped fund more than 40,000 projects across the country. Funding from the law has been used for planned upgrades to bridges, roads, railways and the internet.

“I offer my deepest gratitude to Mitch for his leadership and for his decades of service to the American people. I will miss his counsel greatly,” Biden said in Monday’s statement.

Landrieu’s shift to the campaign is the latest sign of Biden’s reelection effort ramping up staffing at the outset of an election year. The campaign has in recent weeks hired key staff in major battleground states, and Biden on Friday delivered his first major campaign speech of the year, saying former President Trump is a grave threat to democracy.