Senior Aide Who Was Central to Biden's 2020 Campaign Departs White House: 'We Wouldn't Be Here Without Her'

Adam Schultz Remi Anne Yamamoto talks with then-presidential candidate Joe Biden on the campaign trail

The last four years of Remi Anne Yamamoto's life have been devoted to Joe Biden, a man whose politics and character earned her fierce loyalty even before he'd launched a presidential bid. Now, with ample accomplishments under her belt and a 31st birthday around the corner, one of the president's first aides is stepping back to catch her breath — the latest senior White House official to do so during the administration's mid-term transition period.

Before Jen Psaki and Karine Jean-Pierre became prominent figures in the current administration, Yamamoto was one of the most familiar faces of Biden's press team, serving as his traveling spokesperson and close confidant during the 2020 presidential campaign.

For two years Yamamoto lived on the go, traveling state to state with Biden on the campaign's seven-seat jet, bunking with Symone Sanders-Townsend at overnight stops, professionally handling unruly reporters and acting as her boss's makeshift security when two protesters charged the stage at a campaign rally before the former vice president had been granted a Secret Service detail.

She's "tireless," Sanders-Townsend tells PEOPLE. "She also always has your back and fights hard for what she believes in."

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Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Sipa via AP Images Remi Anne Yamamoto guides a protestor off the stage after running up to block Joe Biden

By Biden's side from day one of his campaign — in April 2019 — Yamamoto was present for all the highs and lows of the election cycle. Profiled in Vogue and later honored on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, she played a key role in developing the strategies that ultimately earned Biden a victory over incumbent Donald Trump.

"We wouldn't be here without her," says deputy White House chief of staff Bruce Reed, noting that she's "worked her heart out" over the past four years.

"She forged trust right away," says Steve Ricchetti, current counselor to the president, "and we've never stopped benefitting from her insights and strategic thinking, from campaign events on the road to behind the scenes at the White House."

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Adam Schultz Remi Anne Yamamoto and Joe Biden on the 2020 campaign bus

After Biden's inauguration, Yamamoto largely disappeared from public view as Psaki and Jean-Pierre assumed the front-and-center roles. But her job didn't slow down.

Behind the scenes, Yamamoto became central to West Wing operations, serving as the top communications advisor to the White House chief of staff and other senior officials. She was looped in on policy conversations within the administration — sometimes contributing ideas herself — and played an integral role in promoting government transparency by giving media better access to Biden's inner circle.

"From the day she joined the campaign in 2019, Remi has been a leader in communications and as a member of the overall strategic team," says Anita Dunn, senior advisor to the president who also worked on Biden's most recent campaign. "When Remi is in charge of a project, you know it will be done well. She is creative, smart, hard-working, loyal, and a great colleague."

"Remi is one of the rare, brilliant people who can synthesize policy, message, political strategy, and operational execution," adds Jen O'Malley Dillon, deputy White House chief of staff and Biden's former campaign manager.

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Positioned in a busy West Wing corridor, Yamamoto's spacious office also became a social hub over the past two years for anyone passing through — junior staffers in search of advice, senior officials looking to kick their feet up and the president himself, known to pop in often and pull a harmless prank on occasion.

Adam Schultz

By the time Yamamoto reached the White House, she was already a seasoned member of Biden's team who'd proved her worth to the president. But colleagues say that instead of getting an ego about being one of the longest-serving aides, or feeling protective of her senior position, she paid the lessons she'd learned forward to less experienced staffers.

"When I need career advice or someone to bounce ideas off of, Remi is always my first call," says Lucas Acosta, director of broadcast media at the White House, adding that "she has consistently gone out of her way to elevate the voices of junior staff and staff of color."

By the time assistant White House press secretary Abdullah Hassan had been hired, Yamamoto's reputation as a mentor preceded her. "When I was joining the West Wing, I was told by many that Remi was a person I could trust, confide in, and lean on for advice," Hassan says. "They weren't wrong. Remi's always looking out for you, guiding you and keeping you honest."

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Adam Schultz Remi Anne Yamamoto sits down with Ron Klain, President Biden's first chief of staff

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White House press secretary Jean-Pierre — who joined Biden's campaign after Yamamoto, in 2020, before becoming deputy White House press secretary under Psaki — said "there's truly no better colleague that I have gotten to know these past three years," when asked about Yamamoto's departure in a recent press briefing.

In a televised tribute during his recent farewell event, former White House chief of staff Ron Klain said: "To Remi Yamamoto, you've always had my back, and given me brilliant advice — even if you completely failed in getting me to buy a new suit for TV."