President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced additional members of the Office of the White House Counsel in a statement on the Biden-Harris transition website. According to a statement, Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo would serve under the Biden administration as a member of the office of the White House Counsel, to serve as an Associate Counsel
A lawyer and legal expert per excellence, the 26-year old Nigerian-born Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo is an alumnus of Berkeley Law College. Funmi’s elder brother, Tolu Olorunnipa is currently the White House Correspondent for Washington Post. Olorunnipa Badejo began her legal career as an associate with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, and was Legal Counsel at Palantir Technologies Inc. She is a graduate of Political Science from the University of Florida, with a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and holds a Law Doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
Prior to her appointment as White House Counsel, Badejo served as Counsel for policy to the Assistant Attorney-General in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Ethics Counsel at the White House Counsel’s Office and Attorney Advisor at the Administrative Conference of the United States during the Obama-Biden administration,”
She becomes the 3rd Nigerian American to be appointed under the Biden Government. Other Nigerians in the Biden cabinet include 39-year old Adewale Adeyemo who will be serving under the capacity of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and 26-year old Osaremen Okolo, who will be serving under the capacity of COVID Policy Advisor as well as a member of the Biden-Harris COVID-19 response team.
