(DCWatchdog.com) – Former Obama administration official Jeff Zients is reportedly being considered as the replacement for Ron Klain as President Biden’s chief of staff.
According to Politico, which cited three anonymous sources, Zients is a close confidant of Biden and is expected to take over the role of chief of staff.
Klain, who has been in the position since January 2021, is believed to be stepping down from the job and has reportedly been ready to leave since the 2022 midterms.
This chief of staff shake-up is a high-profile departure for Biden, whose team has remained relatively constant compared to that of Vice President Kamala Harris, who has seen at least 25 staff members leave over the past two years.
Klain and his likely successor, Zients, have remained close for the past several years, with Biden considering Zients a “master implementer.”
Zients has a wealth of experience in government and has held various positions in the past. He was the director of the National Economic Council from 2014 to January 2017 and served as the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget in 2010 and again from 2012 to 2013. He also has close ties to Big Tech, having served as a member of Facebook’s board of directors from 2018 to 2020.
In addition to his previous roles, Zients also served as Biden’s director of the White House COVID response on Inauguration Day, succeeding Dr. Deborah Birx.
He also held the role of Counselor to the President until April 2022. As the chief of staff, Zients would step in as Biden is marred by the scandal over classified documents found at the Biden family’s personal residence.
It should be noted that, as expected, White House insiders claim there is no apparent connection between Klain’s impending departure and the classified documents scandal.
