The White House is warning Cabinet members not to speak later this month at the Democratic National Convention, where Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Democratic super PAC to hit Trump in battleground states over coronavirus deaths Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight MORE will be officially nominated for president, according to The New York Times.

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The speaking ban comes as a handful of President Obama’s Cabinet members — including Labor Secretary Thomas Perez Thomas Edward PerezClinton’s top five vice presidential picks Government social programs: Triumph of hope over evidence Labor’s 'wasteful spending and mismanagement” at Workers’ Comp MORE and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro — have been floated as potential running mates for Clinton, who was once a part of Obama's Cabinet herself.

The directive was issued by White House chief of staff Denis McDonough Denis Richard McDonoughThe swamp wasn't drained — it expanded Susan Rice calls for Flynn-Kislyak transcripts to be released GOP seeks to go on offense using Flynn against Biden MORE, according to the report. It is seen as a move by the White House to distance itself from election-year politics in the waning months of the Obama administration.

“This is largely an effort to delineate as clearly as possible the public, official governing responsibilities we have at the White House, and separate that from politics,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told the newspaper.

President Obama plans to stump with Clinton, his former secretary of State, this week in North Carolina. He endorsed Clinton last month.