White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients removes a face mask as he prepares to speak at a press briefing at the White House, April 13, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
President Joe Biden is expected to tap Jeff Zients, the administration’s former COVID-19 response coordinator, as his next chief of staff.
Biden’s current chief of staff, Ron Klain, is likely to leave the job following Biden’s State of the Union address on Feb. 7, The New York Times reported. Klain has held the position for the past two years.
The chief of staff heads the Executive Office of the President and is a cabinet position widely recognized as one of the most important, influential jobs in the White House. The details of the role differ across administrations, but generally, the chief of staff serves as the President’s primary aide and adviser across many different fronts.
For example, the chief of staff oversees the President’s daily operations as well as broader policy development. The staffer in the role also maintains the president’s schedule, advises the president on policy, hires and organizes staff, and controls the flow of information to the president, among other duties.
In his previous role Zients helped increase the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, but left the administration last April. Prior to that he held several positions under President Barack Obama, including director of the National Economic Council.
If appointed, Zients would begin the role at a critical time for Biden as he may soon announce his 2024 reelection bid and faces a special counsel investigation over mishandled classified documents.
President Joe Biden is proposing a plan to raise the Medicare tax on high-income Americans and push for additional drug price negotiations to fund the program through 2050.
Boy Meets World star Ben Savage has officially announced his plans to run for Congress in the seat currently occupied by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, who is now running for the seat of outgoing U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
If measures of the U.S. economy keep coming in hot, as they did in January, the Federal Reserve will likely have to raise interest rates even higher than it has already signaled — and keep them there longer — Chair Jerome Powell will likely warn in testimony to Congress on Tuesday.
Gov. Josh Shapiro says Norfolk Southern has pledged several million dollars to cover the cost of the response and recovery in Pennsylvania after last month’s derailment.
Researchers have uncovered a network of tens of thousands of fake Twitter accounts created to support former President Donald Trump and attack his critics and potential rivals.
Gunmen kidnapped four U.S. citizens who crossed into Mexico from Texas last week to buy medicine but were caught in a shootout that killed at least one Mexican citizen, U.S. and Mexican officials said Monday.
