Atlanta mayor turns down Biden’s Cabinet offer

High profile Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has turned down an opportunity to serve in President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet, a spokesperson for the mayor said on Saturday.

Ms Bottoms, one of the state’s most influential Democrats, had previously been under consideration to become Mr Biden’s vice presidential nominee.

“Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was honoured to have been offered a role in the Cabinet, which she respectfully declined,” spokesman for Ms Bottoms said in a statement.

The statement did not say what Cabinet position she had been offered.

“The Mayor’s focus remains on the people of Atlanta and the great state of Georgia,” the statement 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.”

Ms Bottoms made national news earlier this year as she clashed with Republican governor Brian Kemp over whether she had the authority to mandate that masks be worn in Georgia’s largest city.

The mayor, who is black, was also widely praised in late May for her passionate and deeply personal plea for demonstrators in downtown Atlanta to go home after protests over racial injustice turned violent.

The statement also rejected speculation Ms Bottoms had turned down a chance to be an ambassador.

“She was never offered an ambassadorship,” the statement said.

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