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Ron Klain, former White House Ebola response coordinator, testifies on Capitol Hill on March 10.
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President-elect Joe Biden has named Ron Klain as his White House chief of staff.
The Washington Post and New York Times first reported the move, and Biden’s transition team made an official announcement soon after.
“Ron Klain’s deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again,” Biden said in a tweet.
Klain, 59, is a lawyer and longtime adviser to Democratic presidents, vice presidents and candidates, including Hillary Clinton, and was a top aide to Biden in the late 1980s. He also served as then-President Barack Obama’s “Ebola czar” during that outbreak in 2014.
“It’s the honor of a lifetime to serve President-elect Biden in this role, and I am humbled by his confidence,” Klain said in a statement. “I look forward to helping him and the Vice President-elect assemble a talented and diverse team to work in the White House, as we tackle their ambitious agenda for change, and seek to heal the divides in our country.”
“He is the logical choice and brings the complete package — universally acknowledged ability, a broad range of experience, chemistry with the president-elect — and he is a strategic thinker that brings results,” former Obama aide Pete Rouse told the Post.
Biden will reportedly name other top staffing picks in the coming days, though cabinet picks are not likely until around Thanksgiving, the Times reported.
