Cedric Levan Richmond (born September 13, 1973) is an American attorney, politician, and political advisor who served as a
senior advisor to the president and director of the
White House Office of Public Engagement in the
Biden administration. A member of the
Democratic Party, he was the
U.S. representative for
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
's
2nd congressional district from 2011 to 2021. His district included most of
.
From 2017 to 2019, Richmond served as Chairman of the
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
.
Beginning with his third term, he was the only Louisiana Democrat serving in either chamber of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
. He served as State Representative from New Orleans to the
Louisiana State House from 2000 to 2011. In 2019, he was named the first national co-chairman of the
Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
Former vice president Joe Biden began his presidential campaign on April 25, 2019 by releasing a video announcing his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. The campaign concluded with him and his running mate Kamala ...
. On September 5, 2020, he was named a co-chair of
Biden's presidential transition. On November 17, 2020, Richmond announced he would leave Congress in January 2021 to serve as
Senior Advisor to the President and director of the
Office of Public Liaison
The White House Office of Public Engagement is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, it was called the White House Office of Publ ...
, which President Biden renamed the White House
Office of Public Engagement.
Early life and education
Richmond was born in New Orleans in 1973 and raised in
New Orleans East
New Orleans East is the eastern section of New Orleans, the newest section of the city. It is bounded by the Industrial Canal, the Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Pontchartrain. Developed extensively from the 1950s onward, its numerous residential ...
, where he attended public schools. His father died when he was seven years old. His mother was a public school teacher and small business owner. Richmond graduated from
Benjamin Franklin High School. He earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
from
Morehouse College
, mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made")
, type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college
, academic_affiliations ...
, and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...
from
Tulane School of Law. He also completed an executive program at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
's
John F. Kennedy School of Government. While at Morehouse, Richmond played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
as a
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...
for the
Morehouse Maroon Tigers
, mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made")
, type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college
, academic_affiliations ...
in the
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black c ...
.
Louisiana legislature
Richmond was elected and served as the
Louisiana State Representative for the 101st district (
) from 2000 to 2011. He was elected shortly after his 27th birthday and was one of the youngest legislators ever to serve in Louisiana when he took office. He served as the Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary and a member of the Ways and Means, House Executive, and Legislative Audit Advisory committees.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 2010, Richmond was elected to the US House of Representatives from
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district for the first time. He took office in 2011. He was reelected in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020.
On June 9, 2014, Richmond introduced the
Honor Flight Act (H.R. 4812; 113th Congress), a bill that would direct the
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
(TSA) to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified
passenger screening services for
veterans traveling on an
Honor Flight to visit
war memorials that had been built to honor their service.
That year Richmond defended his
Republican colleague
Vance McAllister
Vance Michael McAllister Sr. (born January 7, 1974), is an American businessman and Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 5th congressional district. He won a special runoff election held on No ...
, who had become embroiled in an alleged adultery scandal. It was a rare across-the-aisle gesture. Richmond said that he associated the controversy around McAllister with "gotcha moments" in which the "two parties in this country have gone overboard...and taken joy in the pain of their supposed opponents".
Richmond was one of a few Democrats who voted to authorize the
Keystone XL pipeline
The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta ...
.
He is the fifth-biggest recipient of money from
fossil fuel
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ma ...
donors among House Democrats. The
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...
gave him one of the lowest ratings for any Democrat in Congress.
Richmond has been active in the
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
, made up of African-American legislators who work together to have their views heard. On November 30, 2016, he was elected chair of the caucus for the
115th United States Congress
The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January ...
.
On December 18, 2019, Richmond voted to impeach President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
.
Elections
2008
Richmond came in third place in the seven-candidate primary election for the Democratic nomination for
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, behind U.S. Representative
William J. Jefferson and television newscaster
Helena Moreno
Helena Nancy Moreno (born September 30, 1977) is a Mexican-American realtot, equestrienne, former journalist, and politician serving as the president of the New Orleans City Council and First Division Councilmember-at-Large.
Moreno was formerl ...
. During a primary debate, Richmond accused Moreno of drug use, and she attacked him based on his disqualification from the 2005 New Orleans City Council "D" district election.
Later in 2008, the Louisiana Supreme Court suspended Richmond's law license for six months in a 5–2 decision. It found that he had falsified a sworn statement claiming more than two years of residency in New Orleans's "D" district in order to be eligible for the district's city council seat.
2010
Richmond challenged Republican incumbent
Anh “Joseph” Cao for . Richmond was the first candidate in the 2010 elections to have President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
appear in a television ad on his behalf.
Most analysts considered Richmond a strong favorite to retake this seat for the Democrats, even in what was forecast to be a Republican year nationally. With a
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...
of D+25, the 2nd was the most Democratic district in the country to be represented by a Republican. In 2008 Obama had carried it with 74% of the vote, his fifth-best performance in a Southern district and his 35th best nationally.
Richmond won the November 2 election with 65% of the vote.
2012
2020
Richmond's campaign received almost $113,000 from the oil and gas sector, which donated more than any other sector to his campaign.
He was reelected with 63.6% of the vote.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Homeland Security
**
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies (Chair)
**
Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
*
Committee on the Judiciary
**
Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
**
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
Congressional caucuses
*
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
*
New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters.
As of ...
Controversies
In January 2017, Richmond became involved in an argument with Republican lawmakers over whether a particular painting should continue to hang in the Capitol. The painting in question shows police officers apprehending suspects, and the police are depicted as pigs. It was painted by someone from Richmond's district who had won a local award, and Republicans objected to it.
Richmond said that escalating the issue might "open up Pandora's Box" because there are other paintings that some people might also find offensive.
In March 2017, Richmond was criticized for making a crude joke about a controversial photograph of
Kellyanne Conway
Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway (née Fitzpatrick; born January 20, 1967) is an American political consultant and pollster, who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2020. She was previous ...
kneeling on the Oval Office couch. Richmond appeared to compare Conway to
Monica Lewinsky, saying, "I really just want to know what was going on there, because she really looked kind of familiar there in that position there. But don't answer. And I don't want you to refer back to the '90s." Richmond later said the joke was not meant to be sexual.
"Since some people have interpreted my joke to mean something that it didn’t I think it is important to clarify what I meant", he said in a statement. "Where I grew up saying that someone is looking or acting ‘familiar’ simply means that they are behaving too comfortably."
Congressional Baseball Game
Richmond played in the annual
Congressional Baseball Game. He was the starting Democratic pitcher for each of the five years since his election and the Democrats won each game. He had a 2.85
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...
, 1.67
walks plus hits per inning pitched
In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. WHIP is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits allowed and divid ...
and 45
strikeouts
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
in his 27 innings pitched in that span. In 2016 Republican team
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activitie ...
Joe Barton
Joseph Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is an American politician who represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019. The district included Arlington, part of Fort Worth, and several small towns and rural areas south ...
called him the best player to ever participate in the game.
Richmond lost his first game in 2016, a day after participating through the night in the
2016 United States House of Representatives sit-in
The 2016 United States House of Representatives sit-in began on June 22, 2016, when members of the House Democratic Caucus, led by Georgia Representative John Lewis, Massachusetts Representative Katherine Clark, and Illinois Representative R ...
.
Biden administration
Richmond was a national co-chair of the
Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
Former vice president Joe Biden began his presidential campaign on April 25, 2019 by releasing a video announcing his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. The campaign concluded with him and his running mate Kamala ...
.
On November 17, 2020, he announced that he would join the
Biden administration as
Senior Advisor to the President and director of the White House
Office of Public Liaison
The White House Office of Public Engagement is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, it was called the White House Office of Publ ...
.
His resignation became official on January 15, 2021.
His departure triggered a
2021 special election.
Justice Democrats
Justice Democrats is an American progressive political action committee founded on January 23, 2017, by former leaders from the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign Saikat Chakrabarti and Zack Exley, as well as political commentators Kyl ...
criticized Richmond's appointment, alleging that he was one of the top Democratic recipients of donations from the fossil fuel industry.
In an interview before
Biden's swearing-in, Richmond noted his potential work in reaching out to
conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
in different parts of the country. Richmond was reportedly working with the Biden administration on addressing
reparations for slavery
Reparations for slavery is the application of the concept of reparations to victims of slavery and/or their descendants. There are concepts for reparations in legal philosophy and reparations in transitional justice. Reparations can take numer ...
.
Richmond resigned from the White House on May 18, 2022, for a job at the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...
.
Electoral history
U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District November Election, 2016
U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District-November Election, 2014
U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District-November Election, 2012
U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District-Democratic Party, 2010
August 28, 2010
U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District-Democratic Party, 2008
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, November 2, 2004
Louisiana State Representative, 101st District, 2007
October 20, 2007
Louisiana State Representative, 101st District, 2003
October 4, 2003
Louisiana State Representative, 101st District, 1999
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 23, 1999
Second Ballot, November 20, 1999
See also
*
List of African-American United States representatives
The United States House of Representatives has had 156 elected African Americans, African-American members, of whom 150 have been representatives from U.S. states and 6 have been Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives, ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
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, -
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Cedric
1973 births
Living people
21st-century American politicians
African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
African-American people in Louisiana politics
African-American state legislators in Louisiana
Assistants to the President of the United States
Biden administration personnel
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana
Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
Lawyers from New Orleans
Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Morehouse College alumni
Morehouse Maroon Tigers baseball players
Politicians from New Orleans
Senior Advisors to the President of the United States
Tulane University Law School alumni