Biden appoints Jeff Zients, coordinator of the covid vaccine campaign, new chief of staff

Jeff Zients, the former coordinator of the campaign against covid in the US, will be the new White House chief of staff, replacing Ron Klain, an old ally of Joe Biden, as announced by the president of the United States himself in a statement.

Zients faces a delicate role: managing the smooth day-to-day running of the White House and its staff on the eve of a 2024 presidential election campaign that promises to be rough and close.

The departure of the chief of staff – a figure of great importance in American politics, a kind of shadow prime minister – represents an important change within the White House.

Klain, who coordinated Biden's 2020 election campaign, had served in the post for the first two years of the president's term.

He is a veteran collaborator of the president: he began working with the then senator when he was still a law student, and has remained by his side in all kinds of positions.

He became his chief of staff during Biden's time as vice president.

“I knew that I wanted Ron to lead the White House staff.

His qualifications are unique, given his record of public service.

He knows how the Government works, how politics works, how Congress and the White House work, ”Biden has indicated in his statement regarding who until now was his right hand.

"He has assembled the most talented and diverse White House team in history, and called on them to solve impossible challenges."

His substitute has a less political and more technical profile.

Zients collaborated with the Administration of Barack Obama and Joe Biden (2009-2017) in the implementation of the so-called "American recovery law", which served as a pillar for that country to overcome the financial crisis of 2008. Later, he He dealt with the application of the health reform popularly known as

, which facilitated access to health insurance in a country where health is largely managed in the private sector.

He was also in charge of the presidential transition team after Biden's victory in the November 2020 elections.

Zients “is someone who understands what it is to lead a team and who is focused on getting things done,” Biden said.

"I've seen Jeff Zients solve some of the toughest issues in government."

The new chief of staff takes office at a key moment: the US president must deliver his State of the Union address in two weeks, the most important of the year, and in which he presents his legislative program to Congress for the next 12 months.

It is expected that after that speech, probably throughout the spring, Biden will confirm whether he is running for re-election in 2024. If so, the electoral campaign could see a reissue of that of four years ago: his rival at the time, the Former Republican President Donald Trump has already announced his candidacy.

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