U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (R) is joined by Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klain (L) within the Eisenhower Executive Office Constructing on the White House complex in Washington, U.S. November 13, 2014.
Larry Downing | Reuters
Jeff Zients, former White House Covid-19 response coordinator under Biden and an economic advisor to former President Barack Obama, will replace Ron Klain as White House chief of staff, President Joe Biden confirmed in a press release Friday.
“Once I ran for office, I promised to make government work for the American people. That is what Jeff does. A giant task ahead is now implementing the laws we have gotten passed efficiently and fairly,” Biden said.
Zients is a longtime ally of each Biden and Klain and has a popularity of getting things done. Biden first worked with Zients when he was acting director of the Office of Management and Budget under Obama and helped implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He later helped turn around healthcare.gov after it’s hectic rollout and served as Obama’s head of the National Economic Council.
His work turning across the Obamacare website gave him the nickname “Mr. Fix-It.”
Zients helped with Biden’s transition team after which moved on to oversee the White House’s coronavirus response. He left the job in April of last yr. In recent weeks he has returned to the White House to assist coordinate staff turnover after the midterms, where he has worked closely with Klain.
“It can be crucial to fill Ron’s shoes with someone who understands what it means to steer a team, and who’s as focused on getting things done,” Biden said. “I’ve seen Jeff Zients tackle a few of the hardest issues in government.”
The White House will hold an official transition event next week to welcome Zients and thank Klain, Biden said in his statement. Jared Bernstein, a member of Biden’s White House Council of Economic Advisers who served as Biden’s chief economist and economic advisor through the Obama administration, expressed support for Zients in a tweet.
“Really enthusiastic about working with Jeff Zients to implement the @POTUS agenda for bottom-up, middle-out, sustainable growth,” Bernstein wrote. “After @WHCOS himself, cannot consider anyone more able to hit the bottom running on this essential work.”
Zients has had extensive experience outside of presidency within the business sector. He worked at Bain & Co. consulting and later Mercer Management Consulting. Zients worked as CEO of health care consulting firm the Advisory Board Company, which is now a part of UnitedHealth.
In Washington, Zients can also be referred to as the co-founder of the wildly popular Call Your Mother bagel shop and “Jew-ish” deli.
