Jeff Zients, White House Covid-19 response expert, speaks during a White House press conference where they talk about pausing the release of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen Covid-19 vaccine on April 13, 2021 , in Washington, DC.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | beautiful pictures
Jeff Zients will be President Joe Biden’s next chief of staff, according to media reports on Sunday.
Zients, who helped direct the Biden administration’s Covid-19 response and launched an ambitious vaccine campaign, briefly left the White House in April before returning in the fall to help the president. Current office, Ron Klain, prepares for a change in administration after the midterm elections.
Klain has been open about his intention to eventually leave his position, and He is said to be preparing to resign in the coming weeks, according to a Saturday report from The New York Times.
Klain, a longtime adviser to President Joe Biden, has supported Biden throughout his 2020 campaign and has helped guide the Biden administration since he was elected to office. After the midterm elections in November and two action-packed years in the White House, Klain told colleagues he was ready for something different, a Washington Post report said.
Klain previously served as Biden’s chief of staff during former President Barack Obama’s first term, and he has worked with Biden since he ran for president in 1987. In contrast, Zients has spent much of his career. private sector and made its first foray into politics under the Obama administration.
Although Zients has a relatively limited political background compared to Klain, he is a “master performer” and “has earned a deep loyalty” from his colleagues, the Post reported.
A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
