Biden White House chief of staff Ron Klain set to step down in coming weeks: report
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- White House chief of staff Ron Klain is expected to depart his role in the coming weeks, per The New York Times.
- Klain, a longtime Democratic political operative, has been a part of Biden's inner circle for years.
- Potential successors to Klain include Anita Dunn, Jack Markell, Steve Ricchetti, and Susan Rice.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain, a veteran Democratic hand in Washington, is expected to depart from his role in the coming weeks, according to The New York Times.
Klain — who helped guide President Joe Biden's administration from its earliest days through a midterm election where the party was largely spared the electoral thrashing that many political observers had predicted — has been a source of stability throughout the president's first two years in the Oval Office.
According to The Times, Klain has informed colleagues after the midterms that after a long stretch of advising the president, he wanted to move in a different direction, per senior Biden officials who spoke with the newspaper.
Klain worked as President Barack Obama's White House Ebola response coordinator and also previously served as chief of staff to former vice president Al Gore. He also was chief of staff to then-Vice President Joe Biden during the first two years of the Obama administration.
The hunt for a successor has already began, according to The Times.
Anita Dunn — who rejoined the White House last year after having previously served in the White House as a senior advisor from January 2021 to August 2021 — has been a name long rumored to be a contender upon a Klain departure.
Other individuals thought to be under consideration include former Delaware governor Jack Markell, White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, and White House domestic policy director Susan Rice.
The senior Biden officials who spoke with The Times did not indicate whether a successor has been named or offer a timeline for the decision, but said that the pick would come after Biden sets his vision for 2023 during his State of the Union speech on February 7.
The Times reported that Klain would likely remain onboard for a "transition period" to aid his successor as they take on one of the most demanding jobs in the nation's capital — helping shepherd a presidential administration in a new era of divided government after two years of unified Democratic control of Congress.
Klain's successor will be tasked with not only defending Biden against an onslaught of investigations from House Republicans, but will also guide the president as he works with those very same GOP lawmakers — including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California — to avoid another onerous debt limit fight.
The changing of the guard also comes as Biden seeks to highlight his accomplishments in office as he prepares for an expected reelection campaign alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.