Plouffe Joins Group of New Advisers for Harris Campaign
The experienced official from the Barack Obama administration had been the topic of internal speculation for weeks.
TroibNews 
Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is adding a new group of senior advisers, most notably David Plouffe, the former top political adviser to Barack Obama.
This move comes after weeks of speculation and advocacy from some Harris supporters to bring new perspectives to the campaign structure she took over from President Joe Biden following his decision last month to exit the race.
Plouffe, who managed Obama's 2008 campaign and served a key role in Obama's 2012 reelection bid as a White House senior adviser, is taking on a prominent position.
In his new role, Plouffe will discontinue his weekly podcast, The Campaign Managers, co-hosted with former Trump campaign leader Kellyanne Conway. Although he can retain his private sector clients, he will cease his advisory work with TikTok.
Plouffe heads a group of new operatives announced by the Harris campaign today as senior advisers. This group includes policy adviser Brian Nelson, message expert Stephanie Cutter, organizing strategist Mitch Stewart, pollster Terrance Woodbury, and communications adviser Jen Palmieri, who will assist second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Many of these new advisers previously worked on Obama's campaigns or in his administration.
The campaign also confirmed POLITICO's earlier report that it anticipates adding GMMB, the media firm led by former Obama ad maker Jim Margolis, to Harris’s paid media team.
As these new additions begin, the campaign's former chief strategist, Mike Donilon, will return to the White House, according to individuals familiar with the changes.
Donilon, a long-time Biden adviser and speechwriter, left the West Wing at Biden's request to support Harris's struggling campaign in January. He was among the few advisers and close family members with Biden when he decided to leave the race.
With the campaign now focused on Harris's election, Biden has asked Donilon to return to the White House to help guide the final six months of his presidency.
It's uncertain who, if anyone, will now carry the title of chief strategist.
There are differing views within Harris's team about Plouffe’s role. Some aides minimize the significance of his portfolio, while others highlight it as a crucial position.
“There will be several new roles/assignments,” stated a source familiar with the ongoing changes. “He is the biggest one.”
However, a campaign official downplayed Plouffe’s hire, indicating that the highly regarded strategist, like the other new hires, will report to campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. “He’s coming in for a very specific role,” the official said. “He's not senior-advising the whole campaign. He's senior advisor on 270 stuff.”
Despite outward signs of success recently, the Harris campaign is experiencing a challenging transition period. The candidate is striving to balance maintaining the existing campaign operation with integrating her trusted staff into key roles.
The Washington Post first reported some of the new hires on Friday.
Plouffe’s involvement is expected to alleviate concerns among prominent Democrats about a possible strategic vacuum at the top of Harris' campaign.
“There is no one you’d rather have in a foxhole with you in a battle like this,” said David Axelrod, Plouffe’s long-time partner during the Obama era. “He’s seasoned. He’s brilliant. He’s seen it all.”
Axelrod noted that Dillon and Plouffe have a long history of collaboration. “Anytime you marry new personalities into an existing organization, there’s a period of feeling out how roles are going to be defined,” he said. “I think he’s going to be like a consigliere to Jen and the campaign. She will figure out how to use him, but he’s not going to be anything but a team player.”
Like this content? Sign up for POLITICO's Playbook newsletter.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
This move comes after weeks of speculation and advocacy from some Harris supporters to bring new perspectives to the campaign structure she took over from President Joe Biden following his decision last month to exit the race.
Plouffe, who managed Obama's 2008 campaign and served a key role in Obama's 2012 reelection bid as a White House senior adviser, is taking on a prominent position.
In his new role, Plouffe will discontinue his weekly podcast, The Campaign Managers, co-hosted with former Trump campaign leader Kellyanne Conway. Although he can retain his private sector clients, he will cease his advisory work with TikTok.
Plouffe heads a group of new operatives announced by the Harris campaign today as senior advisers. This group includes policy adviser Brian Nelson, message expert Stephanie Cutter, organizing strategist Mitch Stewart, pollster Terrance Woodbury, and communications adviser Jen Palmieri, who will assist second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Many of these new advisers previously worked on Obama's campaigns or in his administration.
The campaign also confirmed POLITICO's earlier report that it anticipates adding GMMB, the media firm led by former Obama ad maker Jim Margolis, to Harris’s paid media team.
As these new additions begin, the campaign's former chief strategist, Mike Donilon, will return to the White House, according to individuals familiar with the changes.
Donilon, a long-time Biden adviser and speechwriter, left the West Wing at Biden's request to support Harris's struggling campaign in January. He was among the few advisers and close family members with Biden when he decided to leave the race.
With the campaign now focused on Harris's election, Biden has asked Donilon to return to the White House to help guide the final six months of his presidency.
It's uncertain who, if anyone, will now carry the title of chief strategist.
There are differing views within Harris's team about Plouffe’s role. Some aides minimize the significance of his portfolio, while others highlight it as a crucial position.
“There will be several new roles/assignments,” stated a source familiar with the ongoing changes. “He is the biggest one.”
However, a campaign official downplayed Plouffe’s hire, indicating that the highly regarded strategist, like the other new hires, will report to campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. “He’s coming in for a very specific role,” the official said. “He's not senior-advising the whole campaign. He's senior advisor on 270 stuff.”
Despite outward signs of success recently, the Harris campaign is experiencing a challenging transition period. The candidate is striving to balance maintaining the existing campaign operation with integrating her trusted staff into key roles.
The Washington Post first reported some of the new hires on Friday.
Plouffe’s involvement is expected to alleviate concerns among prominent Democrats about a possible strategic vacuum at the top of Harris' campaign.
“There is no one you’d rather have in a foxhole with you in a battle like this,” said David Axelrod, Plouffe’s long-time partner during the Obama era. “He’s seasoned. He’s brilliant. He’s seen it all.”
Axelrod noted that Dillon and Plouffe have a long history of collaboration. “Anytime you marry new personalities into an existing organization, there’s a period of feeling out how roles are going to be defined,” he said. “I think he’s going to be like a consigliere to Jen and the campaign. She will figure out how to use him, but he’s not going to be anything but a team player.”
Like this content? Sign up for POLITICO's Playbook newsletter.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
