Rev. Leah Daughtry will help lead the transition operation’s personnel team. | Getty Clinton picks Democratic operative to scout talent for potential White House

Hillary Clinton has tapped the Rev. Leah Daughtry, a seasoned Democratic operative, to help staff her potential White House, as the Democratic candidate slowly but surely builds out her transition team.

Daughtry will help lead the transition operation’s personnel team, according to two sources familiar with the hire. That’s likely to make Daughtry one of the most sought-after power brokers in Washington, as campaign operatives, think-tankers and bureaucrats scramble for jobs in the new administration. And there are plenty to fill: the winner of the presidential election will need to make about 4,000 political appointments throughout the government.


Daughtry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday morning. The Clinton campaign, which has typically remained silent on transition moves, did not comment.

Daughtry was the CEO of the 2016 and 2008 Democratic National Convention Committees, playing a central role in the planning of the massive political events. She was the chief of staff at the Democratic National Committee under Howard Dean.

She is also the pastor at The House of the Lord Church in Washington, D.C., and has helped lead the Democratic Party’s outreach to religious groups.

Daughtry is a veteran of Bill Clinton’s 1992 transition team, and she worked at the Labor Department during the Clinton administration.

The hire comes as Clinton’s comparatively bare-bones transition team, led by John Podesta and Ken Salazar, is expanding. The team recently hired former White House Hispanic outreach aide Stephanie Valencia Ramirez and John Jones, whose deep ties on the Hill include work with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Clinton’s transition team formally came together in August, after her nomination became official at the Democratic convention. The transition has two main functions: preparing to execute Clinton’s policy proposals if she wins, and filling her executive branch, so Daughtry’s hire represents a major step forward for the latter mission.

Of the two co-executive directors of the transition, both of whom served as policy advisers on the campaign, Ed Meier has been focusing on personnel, while Ann O’Leary has been leading on the policy agenda.

