President Joe Biden will name Jeff Zients, who oversaw the White House’s response to the Chinese coronavirus, to serve as his chief of staff, according to the Washington Post on Sunday. He will replace Ron Klain, who will reportedly depart the administration in the coming weeks.
Notably, Biden, who has sought to expand “diversity” in his administration, is opting for Zients to be his chief of staff and overlooking the rest of his diverse team, such as Anita Dunn, a female senior adviser, and Susan Rice, a woman of color.
During his time in the Biden administration, as Breitbart News previously reported, Zients was the voice behind every video call coronavirus briefing and was coordinating the White House’s coronavirus response with Dr. Anthony Fauci and Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Additionally, under Zients, Biden’s administration was caught off guard by the emergence of new coronavirus variants, ultimately leaving the country unprepared.
However, since leaving the first time, Zients has reportedly been back working in the White House with Klain since last fall, where he was helping prepare for staff turnover after the midterms, which ended up being limited since very few senior staff members have left.
Zients has recently been assigned different projects by Klain, which some have viewed as Zients being groomed for the top role, according to people familiar with the arrangement who spoke with the Post.
The Post noted that Zients would take over for Klain as Biden begins to face new challenges in his presidency, such as a Republican-controlled House of Republicans, where GOP members are planning to bombard the president and his administration with multiple investigations, including at least one concerning the business dealing of his son Hunter.
Over the last few weeks, Biden has also been surrounded by many controversies and has received criticism over the mishandling of classified documents. Reports showed that between 25-20 documents were found in Biden’s vice-presidential office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, which sits in close proximity to Capitol Hill, and other places such as his home in Delaware.
Furthermore, as Breitbart News reported, Biden has yet to make an official announcement as to whether he will run for a second term in 2024, even though he has reportedly been getting close to announcing his intentions to run for reelection following his family vacation.
Before joining the Biden administration as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator in the early days of Biden’s presidency, he also previously served in President Barack Obama’s administration in numerous positions. The roles he has held include director of the National Economic Council and assistant to the president for economic policy, in addition to serving in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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