White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod may leave his post just after the president’s State of the Union address, sooner than he had previously indicated, CNN reported Monday.

The address is expected to be in late January or early February. Axelrod told “Fox News Sunday” on Nov. 14 that he would move from the White House and into his role in Obama’s re-election campaign sometime in the late winter or early spring.

A senior administration official and a senior Democratic strategist familiar with the plan told CNN about the possible early departure and that David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign manager, will join the White House staff at the beginning of January to briefly work alongside Axelrod.

Axelrod wants to take some time off before starting on the re-election campaign, according to a senior administration official.

Two senior Democratic officials noted that Plouffe may not directly take over Axelrod’s portfolio because other potential staff moves could result in changing roles.

Plouffe has been serving as a senior Democratic National Committee adviser to the White House on the midterm elections. A senior Democratic strategist said Plouffe will focus on a helping Obama deal with a divided Congress and prepare for his re-election campaign.