Ron Klain’s experience working with people in all political spheres is precisely what I need: Joe Biden
Washington:
US President-elect Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he had chosen Ron Klain, a seasoned Democratic operative, as his chief of staff, his first public staff pick for the White House.
“Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years we’ve worked together,” Biden said in a statement about Klain, who also served as the Democrat’s first chief of staff when he became vice president in 2009.
“His deep and varied experience and ability to work with people from across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we face this time of crisis and bring our country together again,” Biden said.
Klain, 59, also worked with Biden when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He later served as Vice President Al Gore’s chief of staff.
Under President Barack Obama, Klain coordinated the White House response to the Ebola crisis in 2014.
In the same statement released by Biden’s transition team, Klain said it was “the honor of a lifetime” to be named Biden’s chief of staff.
“I look forward to helping him and the vice president-elect build a talented and diverse team to serve in the White House, as we address his ambitious change agenda and seek to heal the gaps in our country,” Klain said.
President Donald Trump lost the November 3 election by all major US media projections, but so far he has refused to budge and is mounting an extensive legal battle aimed at overturning the result.
A key government agency, the General Services Administration, has also refused to formally acknowledge that Biden is president-elect, delaying funding and cooperation for Biden’s transition process.
Klain’s election received high praise from Democrats and even a prominent Republican voice.
Senate Democrat Elizabeth Warren called Klain a “super option” for chief of staff because she “understands the magnitude of the health and economic crisis and has the experience to lead this next administration through it.”
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt called Klain “an excellent choice of president-elect” and a “serious student” of pandemic risk.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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