Ro Khanna (D-CA) emerging as a key beneficiary of his counsel and a likely contender for the 2028 presidential race.
According to Mediaite, Klain, now serving in the private sector as Airbnb’s chief legal officer, has been moonlighting as an informal adviser to several Democratic hopefuls, including Khanna. Politico reported on Monday that this advisory role extends to a growing roster of candidates as the party begins to look beyond Biden-era leadership.
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Klain’s résumé is steeped in establishment Democratic politics, with senior roles under Vice President Al Gore and then-Vice President Biden, followed by his appointment as President Barack Obama’s Ebola response coordinator in 2014. Shortly after Biden’s 2020 victory, Klain was tapped as White House chief of staff, where he became a central architect of the administration’s agenda until his departure in 2023.
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At the time of his exit, Klain reportedly told colleagues that he needed to “move on.” Yet his recent activities suggest he has not moved far from the political arena, instead shifting from public-facing power to discreet influence.
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Klain is now said to be advising figures such as New York City politician Zohran Mamdani (D) and Kennedy family heir and congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg, among others. When contacted by Politico, Klain declined an interview, insisting he wanted his political work to remain “low-key.”
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While in the White House, Klain was one of Biden’s fiercest public defenders, but he later undercut his former boss as concerns grew over Biden’s cognitive fitness during his reelection bid. 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 Democrats scrambling to identify a viable standard-bearer against President Trump’s chosen successor, Klain’s decision to invest his political capital in Khanna is notable. Khanna has carved out a distinct profile as a Democrat willing to appear regularly on Fox News and as a leading voice pressing for the release of the Epstein files.
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On prediction market Kalshi, Khanna currently holds just 2.8 percent odds, ranking 11th among likely Democratic 2028 contenders, trailing figures such as Gavin Newsom at 21 percent, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 9.8 percent, and Pete Buttigieg at 5.4 percent. Those numbers underscore how early and fluid the race remains, even as party insiders like Klain quietly maneuver to shape the post-Biden landscape.
