Ex-Biden Honcho Ron Klain Advising Ro Khanna as He Mulls 2028 White House Bid: Report

(Meg Kinnard/Susan Walsh/AP photos)
Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to President Joe Biden, has reportedly been advising Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who may be eyeing a 2028 presidential run.
Klain, who now works in the private sector as Airbnb’s chief legal officer, has been moonlighting as an adviser to several Democratic candidates, including Khanna, Politico reported on Monday.
Klain has served in multiple high-profile political roles, first under Vice President Al Gore and then-VP Biden, before becoming President Barack Obama’s Ebola response coordinator in 2014.
Shortly after winning the 2020 election, Biden appointed Klain as his chief of staff, where he was a driving force in the administration until stepping down in 2023.
At the time, Klain reportedly told colleagues that he needed to “move on.”
Now, Klain has reportedly been advising candidates such as New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), along with Kennedy scion and congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg, among others.
When reached by Politico, Klain declined an interview, saying he wanted his political work to stay “low-key.”
While Klain was a staunch defender of Biden while at the White House, he stabbed his former boss in the back last year as questions mounted over the former president’s cognitive state while he ran for reelection.
Klain told author Craig Whipple that during a disastrous 2024 debate with Donald Trump, Biden “didn’t know what Trump had been saying and couldn’t grasp what the back and forth was.”
With numerous Democratic names now being floated as potential White House contenders against whoever Trump anoints as his political successor, Klain’s choice to help out Khanna is a significant one.
Khanna has gained notoriety over the past year as a face behind the push to release the Epstein files and one of the few Democrats to make frequent appearances on Fox News.
On betting site Kalshi, Khanna (2.8%) sits in 11th place among likely Democratic 2028 contenders behind Gavin Newsom (21%), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (9.8%), and Pete Buttigieg (5.4%).
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