Ron Klain
| Ron Klain | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Affiliation: | Democratic |
| Education: | Georgetown University Harvard Law School |
Ron Klain was the White House chief of staff and assistant to the president in the Biden administration. On January 22, 2023, multiple outlets reported that Klain planned to step down as chief of staff and would be replaced by Jeff Zients. Joe Biden announced Klain's appointment on November 11, 2020.[1] Klain previously served as Biden's chief of staff from 2009 to 2011, when Biden was vice president in the Obama administration.
Biography
Klain graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University. He also graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was the editor of the Harvard Law Review. He started his legal career as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Byron White. He worked in private practice with a focus on constitutional, commercial, technology, and election law.[1][2] He served as general counsel for the Gore Recount Committee in 2000.[1]
From 1989 to 1992, Klain served as the chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Joe Biden was the committee's chairman. He also worked as chief of staff for Vice President Al Gore (D), U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno (D), and Vice President Joe Biden. He was the White House Ebola response coordinator in 2014 and 2015.[1]
Klain was also an advisor for several Democratic presidential campaigns, including the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Biden.[1]
White House chief of staff
Biden named Klain his White House chief of staff and assistant to the president on November 11, 2020. "Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together, including as we rescued the American economy from one of the worst downturns in our history in 2009 and later overcame a daunting public health emergency in 2014," Biden said in a statement.[1]
Klain submitted a resignation letter to Biden on January 27, 2023. In the letter, he said, "The halfway point of your first term - with two successful years behind us, and key decisions on the next two years ahead — is the right time for this team to have fresh leadership. I have served longer than eight of the last nine Chiefs of Staff, and have given this job my all; now it is time for someone else to take it on."[3] Biden announced he had selected Jeff Zients to replace Klain the same day.[3] Klain's final day at the White House took place on February 7, with Zients officially beginning as chief of staff on February 8, 2023.[4]
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Biden-Harris Transition, "President-elect Joe Biden Names Ron Klain as White House Chief of Staff," November 11, 2020
- ↑ Harvard Law School, "Ron Klain," accessed November 12, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Associated Press, "Biden picks Zients as his next White House chief of staff," January 27, 2023
- ↑ Twitter, "White House on February 8, 2023," accessed February 8, 2023