Obama Team Takes Over Harris Campaign, Pushes Out Biden Staff

Vice President Kamala Harris is reshaping her presidential campaign team as she moves closer to officially becoming the Democratic nominee.

The new team features many veterans from former President Barack Obama’s campaigns, including David Plouffe, who will serve as a senior advisor for strategy, and Mitch Stewart, who will focus on battleground states.

“He’s going to be like a consigliere to Jen and the campaign,” strategist David Axelrod said.

NEW: The Harris campaign has hired a slew of new senior advisers this week, including multiple leaders from former President Barack Obama's campaign, according to people briefed on the campaign shifts.https://t.co/rcfTl1X1EQ

— ABC News (@ABC) August 2, 2024

Plouffe and Jen O’Malley Dillon, a former deputy chief of staff under Biden, have a longstanding working relationship, and Plouffe is expected to play a significant advisory role.

Other key additions include Stephanie Cutter as senior advisor for message and strategy, and David Binder as the campaign’s pollster.

“Donald Trump is cowardly backing out of the debate he agreed to, one just like the debate he did in June,” electoral strategist David Plouffe wrote. “Now, he seems only comfortable in a cocoon, asking his happy place Fox to host a Trump rally and call it a debate. Maybe he can only handle debating someone his own age.”

While some of Harris’s previous team members are being sidelined, several of her existing advisors are also taking on increased responsibilities.

Harris’s campaign aims to differentiate itself from President Biden’s approach as it prepares for the upcoming election.