3 years ago
US President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the appointment of Ron Klain, his longtime aide, as White House chief of staff. In this capacity, Klain will oversee the executive office of the President and serve as a senior advisor.
In addition to supporting the president-elect, Klain will work to build a diverse, experienced, and talented team to help President-elect Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris meet the urgent challenges facing the country, a media release said.
Klain was most recently a senior advisor to Biden for the campaign and has previously served Biden in a number of roles including as his chief of staff when he became vice president.
Klain is also known for his role as the White House Ebola response coordinator at the height of the public health crisis.
Klain said, “It’s the honor of a lifetime to serve president-elect Biden in this role, and I am humbled by his confidence. I look forward to 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 in our country.”
At the conclusion of his work coordinating the US response, President Obama said that Klain had taken on “a challenge that many called insurmountable, and, in leading the team responsible for tremendous progress, helped remind the world what makes America exceptional.”
Earlier, in addition to his work with then-vice president Biden, Klain served as chief of staff for vice president Al Gore, chief of staff and counselor to attorney general Janet Reno, and staff director of the senate democratic leadership committee.
Klain was also associate counsel to President Clinton and in charge of judicial selection. Through his work on the judiciary committee, and in the executive branch, he has played a role in the selection or confirmation of eight Supreme Court justices.
Serving as an advisor on several presidential campaigns, Klain has worked for Obama and Clinton, and Democratic presidential nominees Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton.
Klain graduated from Harvard Law School, was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and won the Sears Prize for the highest grade average in 1985. He was a summa cum laude graduate of Georgetown University, where he serves as an Adjunct Professor.
