Mayor Robert Garcia was nominated by the White House this week to serve as a trustee for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, which offers financial assistance to those pursuing careers in public service.

Garcia was one of 17 nominations that President Joe Biden announced Wednesday for a variety of positions in his administration and agencies like the Truman Scholarship Foundation.

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was created by Congress in 1975 at the request of Truman, who sought to have a living memorial rather than a brick-and-mortar tribute to his time as president. The Truman scholarship awards up to $30,000 for graduate studies in the U.S. or abroad.

Garcia said in a Tweet Wednesday that he was honored by the nomination, which he said would allow him to remain in his current job as mayor of Long Beach. Garcia’s appointment must still be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Given Garcia’s ties to both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris—he endorsed both during their runs for the Democratic presidential nominating process—many observers expected that he might be appointed to some position within the administration.

There was speculation in November that he could be in the running to replace Harris as one of California’s senators but Gov. Gavin Newsom ultimately tapped Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill that void in December.

Garcia has previously said he intends to finish his current term as mayor but has been noncommittal about whether he would run for a third term, which he is eligible to do after a charter amendment he championed in 2018 was adopted by voters.

Garcia has yet to file paperwork to run for next June’s mayoral election and last week held a fundraiser at a waterfront hotel to aid an account linked to a potential run for lieutenant governor in 2026.

Jason Ruiz covers City Hall and politics for the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @JasonRuiz_LB on Twitter.