Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms declined President-elect Joe Biden’s offer to join his Cabinet, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
“Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was honored to have been offered a role in the Cabinet, which she respectfully declined,” Rashad Taylor, a senior adviser to Bottoms, told AJC.
It’s unclear what position she was offered. Several top Georgia Democrats told the outlet that Bottoms was considered to head the Small Business Administration.
“The Mayor’s focus remains on the people of Atlanta and the great state of Georgia,” Taylor said. “Out of respect for the process, and the other candidates under consideration, no additional comment will be forthcoming on this matter at this time.”
Bottoms was considered for top spots:
The statement came after rumors circulated that Bottoms was offered a position as Biden’s ambassador to the Bahamas.
“She was never offered an Ambassadorship,” Taylor said.
Bottoms was among the candidates considered as Biden’s running mate during the campaign before he chose California Sen. Kamala Harris.
Bottoms was later considered a top contender to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which ultimately went to Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge.
Outcry over HUD pick:
Biden and his team came under fire for tapping Fudge to lead HUD after she publicly lobbied for the Agriculture Secretary job.
“As this country becomes more and more diverse, we're going to have to stop looking at only certain agencies as those that people like me fit in,” Fudge previously said. “You know, it's always, ‘we want to put the Black person in Labor or HUD.”
Jim Clyburn, a close Biden ally, criticized the lack of diversity among his picks.
“Way more chaotic than it needed to be,” one Biden ally told Politico of the Cabinet rollout. “And way too much drama.”
