US President Joe Biden is set to name Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior West Wing official and longtime Democratic Party activist, to manage his reelection campaign, three people familiar with the deliberations told CBS News on Sunday.
Chavez Rodriguez currently serves as a senior adviser and assistant to the president &mdash among the highest staff positions in the West Wing &mdash and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, which makes her responsible for outreach to mayors, county executives and governors, especially regarding implementation of the Biden administration’s agenda and in response to natural or other large-scale disasters.
Those familiar with the ongoing deliberations about the reelection campaign told CBS News that several key staffing and operational decisions remain to be made and that while the campaign is expected to launch with a video message on Tuesday, the date could slide if these key appointments are not yet made.
The president has been spending the weekend at Camp David with First Lady Jill Biden and other senior aides sorting out the finishing touches of the campaign.
The White House and Democratic National Committee did not respond to requests for comment. Chavez Rodriguez did not respond to requests for comment.
Chavez Rodriguez is currently the senior-most Latino official in the West Wing and one of just a few Latinas to ever climb that high on a presidential staff in either party. Chavez Rodriguez also worked for then-Sen. Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential bid, giving her a key connection to the vice president
Chavez Rodriguez is the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, the labor and civil rights leader. Biden memorializes Chavez in the Oval Office by prominently displaying a bust of him. This year, a variety of rose named after the labor leader is also blooming in the White House Rose Garden.
On Thursday, sources told The Washington Post that Biden and his team are preparing to announce his reelection campaign as soon as this week.
If the president announces his re-election campaign on Tuesday as expected, it will surprise many DNC officials and other party activists who had begun to anticipate an announcement over the summer, according to CBS News.
These leaders and activists had been led to believe the president was in no rush because of the ongoing squabbling among GOP presidential contenders and the lack of a serious Democratic primary challenger.
Biden has signaled more than once he plans to run for a second term, but has been cautious thus far in confirming he plans to seek reelection. He said after the midterm elections this past November that he is targeting early this year for an official announcement.

In February, Biden said in a TV interview he “probably” intends to seek reelection in 2024 but has yet to make the decision “firmly.”
Several weeks later, first lady Jill Biden gave one of the clearest indications yet that her husband will run for a second term, telling The Associated Press in an interview on Friday that there”s “pretty much” nothing left to do but figure out the time and place for the announcement.