Obama Mourns Longtime Aide Brandon Lepow

Lepow died Monday after battling leukemia for more than two years.
Obama paid tribute to longtime aide Brandon Lepow, pictured here with his then soon-to-be wife, Theresa.
Obama paid tribute to longtime aide Brandon Lepow, pictured here with his then soon-to-be wife, Theresa.
White House

President Barack Obama mourned the death of Brandon Lepow, 32, a former White House staffer who died Monday after battling leukemia.

Lepow joined Obama's 2008 presidential campaign as a volunteer before serving in the White House, where he worked on the president's advance and communications teams. He later left the administration to work at Facebook as a policy communications manager.

"Seven years ago, like a lot of young people, Brandon Lepow got into politics because he believed he could change his country for the better," Obama wrote in a statement released Tuesday. "In his time on the campaign trail and in the White House... he was tireless in that effort -- hardworking, cheerful, one of the most unfailingly kind and gracious people I've had the honor to know."

He continued, "He was someone that any American could be proud to have working on their behalf."

Lepow was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2013 while he was planning his wedding. After 10 months of treatment in Houston, Texas, he went into remission. Lepow relapsed earlier this year, and returned to Houston for further treatment. After receiving a stem cell transplant in April, his immune system began to fail.

In August, more than 50 current and former administration officials gathered in Houston to visit and support Lepow.

Read Obama's full statement:

Seven years ago, like a lot of young people, Brandon Lepow got into politics because he believed he could change his country for the better. And in his time on the campaign trail and in the White House, both as a traveling aide and as a spokesman, he was tireless in that effort – hardworking, cheerful, one of the most unfailingly kind and gracious people I’ve had the honor to know. He was someone that any American could be proud to have working on their behalf.

Last night, we lost Brandon after a long battle with leukemia. It’s a testament to his dedication to others that, over the past few months, more than fifty of his White House colleagues traveled to spend time with him and support his family as he underwent treatment in Texas. We all have heavy hearts today – and all of us, Michelle and I included, share our condolences and all our support with Brandon’s family, his legion of friends, and his wonderful and courageous wife, Theresa. Theirs is one of the great love stories. They, in many ways, kept the rest of us going. And Theresa will always be a part of our family.

To know Brandon Lepow was to know that he didn’t need to get into politics to change the world, after all. He made his thirty-two years count. And those of us who knew him are better for it.

  Like |    Follow | 

Also on HuffPost:

Sister Nirmala

Notable People We've Lost In 2015

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot