Top White House adviser John Podesta will join Hillary Clinton’s not-yet-official presidential campaign when he leaves the White House in February.
The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the decision, said Podesta would take on a senior advisory role in the former secretary of state’s emerging presidential bid.
The Clinton campaign has been Podesta’s long-rumored destination since the White House revealed he would leave his post after President Obama’s State of the Union address. A White House official confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Podesta would leave sometime in February, but did not comment on his next gig.
Podesta was brought into Obama’s inner circle to spearhead the president’s growing reliance on executive action, particularly on environmental matters. Podesta founded the liberal Center for American Progress.
As President Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff, Podesta was viewed by many as a natural fit for a senior post in Hillary’s expected presidential campaign.
The Wall Street Journal cited sources who said Podesta would likely serve as campaign chairman.
Podesta has openly embraced a potential role in Clinton’s orbit.
“If she runs, which I hope she will, I’ll do whatever she asks me to do,” Podesta said in a recent interview on “Charlie Rose.” “But right now she hasn’t made a decision to run and so I’m expecting to return to what I was doing before.”
