Joe Biden chooses adviser Ron Klain as chief of staff
Ron Klain alongside Joe Biden, then vice-president, in 2014, when he was coordinator for the fight against Ebola.
REUTERS / Larry Downing
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
As Donald Trump continues to challenge his defeat, Joe Biden begins to set up his administration with a first decision: the appointment of Ron Klain, a veteran of the Democratic Party for a very long time loyal to the President-elect of the United States, to the post. Secretary General of the White House.
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With our correspondent in San Francisco,
Éric de Salve
The two men have worked together for over 30 years.
Ron Klain, 59, was already Joe Biden's chief of staff when he was Barack Obama's vice president.
A position he also held under Al Gore in the 1990s.
A Harvard law graduate from the Midwest, he was first a lawyer before becoming an adviser to Democratic presidential candidates Al Gore, John Kerry, Hilary Clinton and of course
Joe Biden
.
In recent months, Ron Klain has been part of the small team tasked with coaching Joe Biden for the televised debates.
He also knows the mysteries of Congress in Washington by heart.
In the 1980s, he was an advisor to the Senate Judiciary Committee responsible for hearing judges nominated for the Supreme Court.
Unifying and experienced
The man also seems to satisfy both the centrists and the Liberal Democrats.
“
Ron Klain is a superb choice, he won the confidence of the whole party,
” comments Elisabeth Warren of the Democratic left wing.
"
With his deep and varied experience, his ability to work with the entire political spectrum, it is precisely the Secretary General of the White House that I need,
" said Joe Biden by press release.
This appointment, the first decision of the elected president, confirms his two priorities at the start of his mandate: fighting Covid-19 and then reviving the economy.
Because Ron Klain also has experience in these two areas: under Barack Obama, he was the
coordinator of the fight against Ebola
, and after the 2008 crisis, Ron Klain actively participated in the economic recovery plan.
But his first mission will be to help Joe Biden set up his cabinet.
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