Taking down Trump: Is Obama hardliner returning to lead Dems’ battle against MAGA GOP?

A hard-charging Democrat who has sometimes clashed with the party's progressive wing could be be making a play for chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Axios reports Friday that Rahm Emanuel "is weighing a bid" for the post, per Alex Thompson .

Emanuel, a former congressman who also served as Barack Obama 's first White House chief of staff, has been a significant force in Democratic Party politics for much of the last three decades. But progressives and civil rights leaders were critical of his handling of the high-profile police shooting of a Black teenager killed by a white officer during his time as Chicago's mayor when he was floated as a potential Joe Biden Cabinet member.

Biden instead tapped Emanuel to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Former senior Obama staffer David Axelrod also threw his support behind his former colleague.

"Dems need a strong and strategic party leader, with broad experience in comms; fundraising and winning elections. One thought I surfaced on : Ambassador . There may be others but he is kind of sui genesis: Dude knows how to fight and win!" Axelrod posted to X.

Emanuel grew up in the ritzy Chicago suburb of Wilmette, the son of an Israeli physician who moved to the United States. His start in politics came after college, when he worked for Sen. Paul Simon's 1984 Senate campaign and Daley's run for mayor in 1989.

Then he went to work for a little-known Arkansas governor who wanted to be president.

His fundraising skills helped keep Bill Clinton's campaign afloat during some rocky times, particularly the scandal over whether he had slept with Gennifer Flowers.

Clinton made him his political director in the new administration, but internal tensions led to his comeuppance a year later, when he was demoted to a policy adviser.

Midway through Clinton's second term, Emanuel left for Chicago to work in investment banking. The firm he joined was soon sold, and Emanuel made millions, giving him the financial security to get back into politics.

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