In the face of stubbornly low poll numbers, two top White House aides are leaving to join President Biden's re-election campaign, the New York Times first reported.

Driving the news: Deputy chief of staff Jen O'Malley Dillon — who managed Biden's general election bid in 2020 — and senior adviser Mike Donilon will be moving to the campaign in the coming weeks.

Why it matters: The Biden team has publicly projected calm. But the personnel moves are a reaction to deep anxieties among Democrats, Biden's team and the president himself that the re-election campaign is falling behind.

Between the lines: Biden's most trusted aides have remained in the White House, so top campaign officials were not fully empowered to make many decisions without the West Wing signing off.

• In recent weeks, former President Obama's private concerns became public — including his suggestion to Biden aides that "the campaign needs more top-level decision-makers at its headquarters," as the Washington Post reported.

Zoom in: Donilon is one of Biden's most trusted political aides having worked with him since the 1980s.

• Except for the president himself, Donilon is often the last person to review and change Biden's speeches.
• O'Malley Dillon took over as Biden's 2020 campaign manager just as he became the Democratic nominee. Many in Bidenworld are hoping she can steer him to victory again.