Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms exits position in White House, ex-SC mayor taking over

Senior Adviser to President Biden for Public engagement Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Jan. 13, 2023. President Joe Biden on Monday announced the appointment of former Columbia, South Carolina, Mayor Steve Benjamin, as a top adviser, filling a key White House role from a state that has become crucial to the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 election cycle. Keisha Lance Bottoms, who had assumed the role in June and is returning to Atlanta, officials said. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

President Joe Biden on Monday announced the appointment of former Columbia, South Carolina, Mayor Steve Benjamin as a top adviser, filling a key White House role from a state that has become crucial to the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 election cycle.

Benjamin will become director of the White House Office of Engagement. He takes over from another former mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who had assumed the role in June and is returning to Atlanta, officials said.

Benjamin will oversee White House efforts “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,” according to the White House. In a release, Biden called Benjamin a “longtime public servant” whose “deep relationships across the country” would well serve the administration.