President-elect Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that Ronald Klain will serve as his chief of staff.
Klain, who served as chief of staff to Mr. Biden when he was vice president, as well as to former Vice President Al Gore, is a natural pick for the role. Klain, 59, served as ebola “czar” for the Obama administration, and has been a frequent critic of President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together, including as we rescued the American economy from one of the worst downturns in our history in 2009 and later overcame a daunting public health emergency in 2014,” Biden said in a statement. “His 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.”
Klain called the selection the “honor of a lifetime,” and said he looks forward to tackling Mr. Biden’s agenda.
Ron Klain seen in Washington, D.C., on November 13, 2014.
Larry Downing / Reuters
Additional top-level White House positions are expected to be named soon, according to sources familiar with the transition plans. These will include longtime Biden advisors like Bruce Reed and Steve Ricchetti, who both also served as Mr. Biden’s chiefs of staff while he served as vice president, along with top campaign strategist Mike Donilon.