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White House counselor John Podesta will leave the White House next month, according to a senior administration official, and will help Hillary Rodham Clinton'spresidential bid if shelaunches one.

Podesta has told Clinton "that if she decides to run" he "will do whatever" he can to help her, according to an official who asked for anonymity in order to discuss internal personnel matters.

Clinton is likely to announce her intention to seek the Oval Office this spring, according to her advisers and Democratic strategists.

A longtime Clinton confidant, Podesta has focused on issues including energy and the environmentalong withmanaging big data during his year-long West Wing stint under the current president. Podesta, whoserved as President Clinton's chief of staff, had planned for months to leave his post shortly after Obama's annual address to Congress. On Monday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest confirmed Podesta would be leaving soon but did not provide a specific timetable or say what he would do next.

"We said that when he started last year that he would essentially be serving through the end of the calendar year," Earnest told reporters. "Hes going to stay on at the beginning of this year to help with the State of the Union. I dont have an exact date for his departure though."

Juliet Eilperin is a White House correspondent for The Washington Post, covering domestic and foreign policy as well as the culture of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. She is the author of two booksone on sharks, and another on Congress, not to be confused with each otherand has worked for the Post since 1998.

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John Podesta to help Hillary Clinton seek presidency if ...

(L-R) Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Florida, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Getty

As he eyes a 2016 presidential bid, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke at a fundraiser for his new leadership PAC in Connecticut on Wednesday, taking several shots the likely frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton.

Bush said that Clinton, a former Secretary of State under President Obama, would have a lot to answer for regarding the foreign policy mistakes of Mr. Obama's administration, several attendees told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers.

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Jeb Bush, Former Florida governor and possible 2016 presidential contender, will host a large fund-raising campaign in Connecticut Wednesday nigh...

He added that Clinton, also a former senator and first lady, won't be able to lean on the legacy of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

"If someone wants to run a campaign about 90s nostalgia, it's not going to be very successful," Bush said, according to a fundraiser attendee who spoke with Hearst.

Of course, as the son and brother of former presidents himself, Bush would have to wrestle with his own family's legacy if he runs in 2016, which seems increasingly likely.

During the fundraiser, Bush rebutted concerns that he wouldn't be able to demarcate himself from his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and his brother, former President George W. Bush.

"Do you have a father?" Bush asked his audience, according to one attendee. "Do you have a brother? Are you the same person?"

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Report: Jeb Bush dings Hillary Clinton at fundraiser

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the target of a Republican Party video unleashed Thursday morning that goes after her sky-high speaking fees. The clip was released on PoorHillaryClinton.com, a Republican National Committee-run site that mocks Clinton for saying she was dead broke when she and President Bill Clinton left the White House in 2001.

Hillary Clinton thinks shes dead broke, but she earns more in one speech than nearly 90 percent of all Americans earn in an entire year, said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in a statement, referring to the interviewClinton gave with ABC News Diane Sawyer in June, shortly before the release of her memoir, Hard Choices. She later said she regretted the remark.It was accurate, but we are so successful and were so blessed by the success weve had, and my husband has worked incredibly hard, she told Fusion's Jorge Ramos. What I worry about is not my family. I worry about other families in our country who feel like theyre running in place.

Priebus also suggested that Hillary Clinton is a diva. Not only is she willing to charge cash-strapped universities a quarter-million dollars for a speech, but she also has a long list of demands, everything from elaborate food spreads to chartered jets, he said. This is just one more reminder that Hillary is out of touch, and we need to keep her out of the White House.

Clinton is universally expected to make a run for the presidency in 2016, but she has not actually announced. In the RNC's infomercial-style video called Poor Hillary, a pitchman targets groups looking to hire speakers for their events and who are tired of easy-going, low-hassle keynote lecturers. The video claims Clinton receives about $46 per second for a speech.

PoorHillaryClinton.com was created in July and uses diamonds as bullet points to highlight Clintons $8 million book advance for Hard Choices and the former first couple's $1.7 million New York home and $2.85 million house in Washington, D.C.

Is this really what dead broke looks like? Seems like the Clintons should be just fine with their two multi-million dollar houses, the website says. No need to add the White House to the list.

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Clinton President 2016: 'Poor Hillary' Video By RNC Attacks Her Speaking Fees In New Ad

In this photo taken Dec. 3, 2014, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at Georgetown University in Washington. A still undeclared candidate, Clinton sits atop the prospective field of Democratic presidential candidates for 2016. But as she has ... more >

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has turned to former Obama pollster Joel Benenson to join her campaign team if in fact she does decide to run for president.

Robby Mook, who helped with Ms. Clintons 2008 campaign, is a likely aide to any run for the White House she might make. But Mr. Benensons name is somewhat of a surprise to political watchers and represents a shakeup on the part of Mrs. Clinton, Politico reported.

The safer route would have been to stick with Mark Penn, past pollster for Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, or Geoff Garin, whom she deployed after a campaign makeover during the 2008 primaries, Politico reported. But the former secretary of state seems to be casting a wider net.

Mr. Benenson served on Mr. Obamas campaign as part of a larger team a scenario that Mrs. Clinton is believed to be considering for herself if she runs for the White House, Politico reported.

Sources said Mr. Mook and Mr. Benenson are now working with Mrs. Clinton to shape the framework for her run, Politico reported, though neither would comment.

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Hillary Clinton taps Obama pollster Joel Benenson

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, uses a teleprompter as she speaks to students at the University of California Los Angeles, UCLA campus on the subject of leadership Wednesday, March 5, 2014, in Los Angeles. AP

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will bring on Joel Benenson, a former pollster for President Obama, and 2008 staffer Robby Mook for her campaign team if she runs for president, Politico reports.

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Hillary Clinton holds a wide margin in polls against other potential candidates for the 2016 Democratic nomination. However, there is a lack of s...

Benenson could be part of a team of pollsters, reprising his role for the Obama campaign in 2008 and 2012. In 2008, Clinton employed Mark Penn and later Geoff Garin to do her polling, staying within the universe of familiar and trusted aides.

Mook was an organizer in 2008 for Clinton, but he apparently won the respect of the Obama team, which was known for its powerhouse organizing across the country. He is widely expected to be the campaign manager should Clinton run, and has already begun holding meetings, sources told Politico.

Clinton has said she'll make a decision on a presidential bid in early 2015, although she recently accepted an invitation to deliver a paid speech to the American Camp Association in March. It is unlikely she would continue to give paid speeches once she announced a campaign.

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Report: Hillary Clinton taps former Obama pollster for campaign