Ron Klain: Joe Biden confirms longtime adviser as chief of staff
12 November, 2020
US president-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday announced he has chosen Ron Klain, a practiced Democratic operative, as his chief of staff, his first public personnel choice for the White House.
"Ron has been invaluable if you ask me over the many years that we been employed by together," Mr Biden said on Mr Klain, who also served as the Democrat's first chief of staff when he became vice president in '09 2009.
"His deep, varied experience and capacity to utilize people all over the political spectrum is just what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again," Mr Biden said.
Mr Klain, 59, also worked with Mr Biden when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Afterwards, he served as chief of staff to vice president Al Gore.
Under president Barack Obama, Mr Klain co-ordinated the White House response to the ebola crisis in 2014.
Mr Klain said it had been "the honour of a lifetime" to be named Mr Biden's chief of staff.
"I anticipate 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 inside our country," Mr Klain said.
President Donald Trump lost the November 3 election according to all major US media projections, but he up to now has refused to concede and is mounting an intensive legal fight targeted at overturning the result.
An integral government agency, the overall Services Administration, in addition has declined to formally acknowledge that Mr Biden may be the president-elect, holding up funding and co-operation to Mr Biden's transition process.
Mr Klain's selection drew wide praise from Democrats, and even one prominent Republican voice.
Elizabeth Warren, Democratic senator, called Mr Klain a "super choice" because he "understands the magnitude of medical and economic crisis and he gets the experience to lead this next administration through it".
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt called Mr Klain "a good choice by the president-elect" and a "serious student" of pandemic risk.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com