Politics

Ex-White House COVID Czar To Become Biden’s New Chief Of Staff: REPORT

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
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Jeff Zients, who led the COVID-19 response effort for President Joe Biden’s administration, will reportedly become the White House chief of staff, CNN first reported.

The current chief of staff, Ron Klain, is expected to step down from his position around Feb. 7 when the State of the Union address is held. This move arose as the president faces scrutiny over the discovery of classified documents in his private office and home.

Zients stepped down as the COVID-19 coordinator in April and was replaced by Dr. Ashish Jha, the Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. His departure occurred after the administration and federal government shifted away from pandemic policy and messaging. (RELATED: Joe Biden Claims His Personal COVID Czar Is ‘Running The CDC’)

He returned to the White House in the fall to assist Klain after staff departed the administration after the midterm elections, the Washington Post reported. He assigned a variety of tasks to Zients in recent weeks to possibly prepare him for taking on the new leadership role.

The reported upcoming chief of staff served in high-ranking positions in former President Barack Obama’s administration and has spent most of his life in the private sector, the Post reported.

He had previously been an expected replacement for Klain who had long planned to depart from his position after the first two years of the administration, Politico previously reported. Alternative considerations included Labor Secretary Martin Walsh, senior Biden adviser Anita Dunn and domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, according to the New York Times.

Klain is expected to continue holding the position when Zients assumes office in order to ensure a smooth transition, three sources reportedly told CNN.