US Vice President Joe Biden (left) is joined by Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klein (left) at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Complex in Washington on November 13, 2014.
Larry Downing | reuters
Jeff Zients, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator under Biden and economic advisor to the former president Barack ObamaWill replace Ron Klain as White House chief of staff, President Joe Biden confirmed in a statement on Friday.
Biden said, “When I ran for office, I promised to make government work for the American people. That’s what Jeff does. A big task ahead is to implement the laws we passed efficiently and fairly.” “
Zyant is a longtime ally of both Biden and Klein and has a reputation for getting things done. Biden first worked with the giants 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 transform it after the hectic rollout of health.gov and served as head of Obama’s National Economic Council.
His work around the Obamacare website earned him the nickname “Mr. Fix-It”.
Zents helped with Biden’s transition team and then went on to oversee the White House’s coronavirus response. He left the job in April last year. In recent weeks, he has returned to the White House to help coordinate staff turnover after the midterms, where he has worked closely with Klain.
“It’s important to fill Ron’s shoes with someone who understands what it means to lead a team, and who is focused on getting things done,” Biden said. “I’ve seen Jeff Zents tackle some of the toughest issues in government.”
Biden said in his statement that the White House will hold an official transition event next week to welcome the Giants and thank Klein. Jared Bernstein, a member of Biden’s White House Council of Economic Advisers who served as Biden’s chief economist and economic advisor during the Obama administration, expressed support for the giants in a tweet.
“Really excited about working with Jeff Zents to implement the @POTUS agenda for sustainable growth from the bottom up, middle out,” Bernstein wrote. “Can’t think of anyone more willing to hit the ground running for this much needed work, than @WHCOS myself.”
Giants has extensive experience in the business sector outside of government. He worked at Bain & Company Consulting and later at Mercer Management Consulting. Ziants served as CEO of the health care consulting firm The Advisory Board Company, which is now part of UnitedHealth.
In Washington, Zients is also known as the co-founder of the wildly popular Call Your Mother bagel shop and “Jewish-ish” deli.