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Former Atlanta mayor joins Biden administration

Barack Obama
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Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will join President Joe Biden’s administration as his senior adviser for public engagement.

The White House said Bottoms will oversee an office that works with “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 was a one-term Atlanta mayor, serving from 2018-2022. She opted not to run for reelection for a second four-year term.

She was one of the first major political figures to endorse Biden in his bid for the presidency. She was also among those rumored to be considered to be Biden’s running mate in 2020.

“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,” Biden said.

Since leaving office, Bottoms has served as a commentator for CNN.