Mitch Landrieu, Biden’s infrastructure czar, steps down to join campaign

Mitch Landrieu, senior adviser and infrastructure implementation coordinator, is leaving the White House to join President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign as national co-chair.

Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans, joined the Biden administration in 2021 following the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Tasked with overseeing one of the most important legislative accomplishments of the president’s first term, Landrieu served as a key member of the president’s advisers. He managed the dispersal of billions of dollars in new funding for roads, bridges, water pipelines, broadband and more. He also worked on projects such as the reopening of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia.

“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. 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,” Biden said in a statement Monday morning. “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.”

Biden said Landrieu traveled over 119,000 miles to nearly 150 cities across the country to hear from governors, mayors and other local leaders. “Mitch has consistently demonstrated that when we work together, we can do big things,” the president said in his statement.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez said Landrieu would bring a “unique and valuable experience” to the reelection.

“His work at the White House to lift up how President Biden is investing in America and rebuilding the backbone of our economy is critical to our reelection effort, and I’m thrilled that he’ll be joining our team as a co-Chair and key voice for our campaign as we continue this fight,” she said in a statement.

Landrieu’s move comes as some top Democrats have raised concerns about the campaign structure and have suggested that some of Biden’s top White House advisers should move over to the campaign.