Michael LaRosa

Michael LaRosa was Special Assistant to the President and Chief Spokesperson for the First Lady of the United States from January 2021 through August of 2022. He joined the White House on day one of the Biden-Harris Administration, where he served as a trusted aide and adviser, counseling the First Lady on media relations and strategic communications. LaRosa oversaw the media strategy and press planning for the First Lady’s surprise and unannounced visit to war-torn Ukraine for a historic meeting with Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, in May of 2022. Since 2019, LaRosa has traveled to over 75 cities, 40 states, and 10 countries with the President and the First Lady. He has spent more than 15 years at the intersection of government, politics, policy, and media.

In the White House, he served as the primary spokesperson to the First Lady on all domestic and foreign travel and joint trips with the President including: major Presidential addresses; international summits; disaster and recovery zones; and mass shooting and tragedy site visits. He worked with the White House Correspondents Association and the major broadcast and cable news networks to build press pools, managing all national and local press logistics, for coverage of more than 200 events and traveling to 45 states, 55 cities, and 15 countries.

LaRosa planned and executed the media strategy and logistics for the First Lady’s events at the G7 Summit in Cornwall England; the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan; the G20 Summit in Rome, Italy; the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles; the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, as well as her tours throughout Central and South America, Africa, and eastern Europe. He has managed bilateral negotiations on press access with six foreign government counterparts during pre-advance trips to Central and South America and Africa and negotiated with the governments of 15 foreign countries and U.S. Embassies around the world.

Prior to serving in the White House, he was Former Second Lady Jill Biden’s Chief Spokesperson and Traveling Secretary on the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team, theBiden Harris presidential campaign, and Joe Biden’s campaign for the Democratic Nomination during the 2020 primary contest. For nearly three years, Michael enjoyed a front row seat to history as a core member of Joe Biden and Jill Biden’s traveling bubble for the entirety of the 2020 primary and general election campaigns including; the “No Malarkey” bus tour through Iowa, debate nights, election nights, the Democratic National Convention, the Amtrak Train Tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania, Biden-Harris victory night, the Biden-Harris Transition Team, the inauguration, and all joint appearances.

Prior to joining Biden’s presidential campaign in the fall of 2019, he was a senior aide to House Democratic Leadership, leading communications for the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In the U.S. Senate, LaRosa served as the Communications Director for Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Democrats on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Prior to senior roles in the White House, on the presidential campaign, and on Capitol Hill, LaRosa spent seven years as a television producer for one of the longest running political talk shows on cable news, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.

A competitive swimmer of 17 years, LaRosa was a four-time conference champion and high school All-American. He is a graduate of Easton Area High School in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he holds the school record in the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle and was inducted into his high school hall of fame. He received an athletic scholarship to Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, where he held the school record in the 100 freestyle, was a two-time Big East Conference finalist, and competed in the U.S. Open for swimming in Seattle, Washington and San Antonio, Texas. He was named to the NCAA Leadership Conference his junior year, where he represented all SHU Athletes. His senior year, he was named Seton Hall Men’s Swimming MVP. LaRosa received his B.A. in political science from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey and his M.A. in government from American University School of Public Affairs in Washington, DC. Having recently departed the White House, he brings fresh perspective and insight from his relationship with the First Family and the key players inside the Biden White House. He offers analysis of the conversations taking place in the news of the day based on his time in the White House, on the Biden campaign, and on Capitol Hill.