NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana Representative Cedric Richmond will resign from his congressional seat for a position in the White House as a Senior Advisor to the Biden administration.

Richmond will be Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. He announced plans to vacate his seat during a news conference Tuesday.

Rep. Richmond's 2nd Congressional District seat includes parts of the city of Baton Rouge and River Road areas.  The majority of the district is in  New Orleans, where Richmond lives. 

NEWS: U.S. Rep. @CedricRichmond will officially join the Biden administration in a senior role, with a portfolio that includes public engagement, per @tylerpager and @jeneps. He's leaving a safe Democratic congressional seat in Louisiana.

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) November 16, 2020

A special election will be set for Richmond's congressional seat. 

The Biden-Harris transition team announced Tuesday morning:

Congressman Cedric Richmond was National Co-Chairman of the Biden-Harris Campaign and is currently a Co-Chair of the Biden-Harris Transition Team. Since 2011, Richmond has represented Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. During his time in Congress, Richmond served on the House Ways and Means Committee, the House Committee on Homeland Security, the House Committee on the Judiciary, the House Democratic Assistant to the Majority Whip, a member of the New Democratic Coalition, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and, most recently, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Richmond was a leader in helping to enact landmark criminal justice reform and ensuring that the people of Louisiana’s 2nd District were prepared for emergencies and natural disasters through his oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the House Committee on Homeland Security. Born and raised in New Orleans, Richmond is a graduate of Morehouse College and Tulane University School of Law, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.