Butts

Three more aides to former St. Louis congressman Dick Gephardt have been gobbled up by President-elect Barack Obama for roles in the new administration.

The Obama transition team announced today that Cassandra Butts, a senior advisor to Gephardt who served as the policy director for his 2004 presidential campaign, has been named deputy White House counsel. Butts, who attended Harvard Law School with Obama, will focus on ethics and domestic issues.

Dan Turton, who spent more than a dozen years in Gephardt’s Capitol Hill office, will be the administration’s deputy director of legislative affairs on the House side.

Semonti Mustaphi, who also worked on Gephardt’s presidential campaign, will be Michelle Obama’s deputy press secretary.

The trio are the latest staff members with Gephardt ties to sign-up with Obama. David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, was a strategist and deputy chief of staff to Gephardt.