Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hired Mitch Cummin, a lawyer who fought the Trump administration, to provide legal services to underprivileged communities and became the next Chief of Staff.
Like the mayor, Cumin, a graduate of Alexander Hamilton High School, will become the third chief of staff on the city’s nearly three-year bus.
Announcing his appointment in a press release on Friday, Bass called Kamin “a veteran leader and current Quo Disropter.”
The Harvard-educated lawyer has decades of experience as a executive in nonprofits and legal services organizations, and serves on several urban committees.
More recently, he was the general counsel and chief strategy officer for the Lucas Museum’s Museum of Story Art, a project by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, which is scheduled to open next year.
Previously, Cumin was a partner at law firm Covington & Burling LLP, assisting in recruiting the first LA office and co-chairing the global commercial litigation practice group and the entertainment and media industry group. He was previously president of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm that offers free legal services.
“Mitch is a passionate, dedicated and persuasive leader,” former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who was Covington’s Cummin’s partner, said in a statement.
Cummin, 58, is in charge of the base’s office as the Trump administration continues to crack down on immigrants across Los Angeles and across the country. During Trump’s first term, he represented the city in A, which prevented the federal government from requesting cooperation with immigration enforcement as a condition for receiving the grant.
Camin is replacing Carolyn Webb de Macias, who has been leading the mayor’s office since November 2023. She retired and was only to serve for a year, but said she stayed long after the wildfires in January.
The mayor’s first chief of staff was Chris Thompson, who led the transition team after the election.
The mayoral administration’s chief of staff often served longer. Anna Guerrero headed the mayor’s office for eight years under Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Robin Kramer served under Mayor Antonio Villaraigoza at about four years old.
Guerrero lost her post in 2021 after revelation that she joined a private Facebook group. She was reduced along with the mayor.
Cumin was appointed by Garcetti in 2016 to serve on the committee overseeing the Los Angeles Department of Homeless Services. He also served as chairman of the Los Angeles City Housing Authority committee since 2011.
At the time of agency Rudolf Montiel, Camiin was on the board. The board elicited criticism for offering Montiel a $1.2 million retirement package.
“The basic thing was to eliminate legal liability. It was to close this chapter and move forward,” Cumin told The Times in 2011.
Kamin will start a new job on September 22nd, Bass told staff via office-wide email.
“Mitch has my full support and command to lead this team and maximize our effectiveness and performance,” she writes.
