President Joe Biden on Friday chose his former COVID-19 policy coordinator, Jeff Zients, to be the next White House chief of staff, citing his experience in health care and economics.
Zients will replace Biden’s current chief of staff, Ron Klain, according to a statement.
“I have seen Jeff Zients tackle some of the toughest problems in government,” Biden said in a statement announcing the move.
Klain, a longtime aide and adviser to Democratic presidents and vice presidents, has been Biden’s chief of staff since he took office in January 2021.
It is not unusual for presidents to replace chiefs of staff during their terms, especially their second term.
Zients worked on the American Recovery Act during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice president, and then was tasked with fixing the healthcare.gov website after the Affordable Care Act passed.
Under Biden, he led the response to COVID-19, a “great logistics undertaking of historic proportions,” Biden said.
Biden credited Klain, whom he described as tough, smart and persistent, for assembling “the most diverse and talented White House team in history.”
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