President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that an Obama administration lawyer to step in as White House counsel, starting start his new job in September.
Ed Siskel will be assuming the chief legal White House position amid growing pressure from congressional Republicans’ investigations into the Biden family. The House Oversight Committee has said they are specifically investigating what ties Biden had to his family’s foreign business dealings while he was vice president, after releasing a report showing the family received $10 million from foreign sources.
Biden’s White House Counsel’s office has largely dismissed the Republican investigations into the Biden family, with office spokesperson Ian Sams comparing the whistleblowers who testified before the House Oversight to characters from “Dumb and Dumber” and denouncing the investigation as a “wild goose chase.” (RELATED: ‘Wild Goose Chase’: White House Responds To GOP Committee Investigation Into Biden Family)
The new White House counsel will be replacing Stuart Delery, whose departure Biden announced Thursday.
Siskel served in the White House Counsel’s office under former President Barack Obama for four years, ultimately becoming deputy counsel, and went on to work under former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
“Ed Siskel’s many years of experience in public service and a career defending the rule of law make him the perfect choice to serve as my next White House Counsel,” Biden said in a statement. “For nearly four years in the White House when I was Vice President, he helped the Counsel’s Office navigate complex challenges and advance the President’s agenda on behalf of the American people, and first as a federal prosecutor and then as the top counsel for one of America’s biggest and most vibrant cities, his hometown of Chicago, Ed has shown a deep commitment to public service and respect for the law.”
And yet … despite years of obsession and countless wasted taxpayer dollars on a wild goose chase, the @HouseGOP hasn’t offered a single credible piece of evidence of wrongdoing by the President
This waste of time reflects the extraordinarily misplaced priorities of House Rs. https://t.co/OPXOJ283Ud
— Ian Sams (@IanSams46) July 19, 2023
His experience will let him hit the ground running as a key leader on my team as we continue making progress for the American people every day,” Biden added.