WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Ron Klain is expected to leave the Biden administration in the coming weeks as the White House reconfigures its team ahead of the 2024 election, according to two sources familiar with the decision.
Klain has held the top job for more than two years and was a key adviser to Biden during the 2020 campaign. It had long been expected that he would leave sometime after the midterms and the plan is for him to do so after the speech. Biden’s State of the Union address early next month, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. In private conversations dating back to the middle of last year, Klain made it known that the work is backbreaking and talked about leaving in the middle of Biden’s term, a person familiar with his views said.
“No one is surprised,” said an administration official.
As the first departure among a stable core of senior advisers closest to the president, Klain’s departure is likely the first domino in a series of personnel moves to come. Advisers have long said a wave of them would likely come after the State of the Union on Feb. 7, with parallel moves as part of a campaign surge.
Klain’s departure comes at a critical time for the White House and presents Biden with one of his toughest personal challenges to date. The next head of the White House he will need to avoid aggressive investigations coming from the House’s Republican majority while ensuring Biden remains a viable candidate for re-election.
«It’s going to be a great job for Klain’s successor and I don’t envy the person,» said Chris Whipple, author of a recent book at the Biden White House. “It is relentless, thankless and difficult work. They are sailing in troubled waters ahead. It will not only be a painful campaign with an 80-year-old candidate, but also a hostile Republican House with their hair on fire.»
Several replacements are already being considered, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions. Among the likely contenders: current senior adviser Anita Dunn, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, former Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients and former Delaware Governor Jack Markell.
Klain declined to confirm or deny the news of his impending departure, which was first reported by The New York Times. “We don’t have any announcements at this time,” she told NBC News on Saturday afternoon.
Klain, who was also Biden’s chief of staff during his vice presidency, is credited with bringing calm discipline and order to West Wing operations, which have been remarkably drama-free.
Biden’s cabinet has seen no change, nor has there been the backbiting or turf wars that were a feature of daily life in former President Donald Trump’s White House.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., would not confirm or deny Klain’s reported plans to leave. But he said Klain has been an indispensable part of the political successes Biden has racked up.
“Ron Klain’s talent, energy, integrity and skills have been critical to the accomplishments of the past two years,” said Coons, who is close to Biden’s White House. «He is relentlessly loyal to the president, he has a clear vision of the challenges of advancing his agenda, and he is unmatched in his work ethic.»
“The unprofessionalism and utter chaos of the Trump White House have been largely forgotten in the circles I work in,” Coons added. “It seems we are back to normal. There are adults in the room.
Whipple, who also wrote a book on White House chiefs of staff, called Klain one of the best of the modern presidency. Others, he said, were James Baker, who was chief of staff to former Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush; and Leon Panetta, who served under former Democratic President Bill Clinton, Whipple said.
“It is a great challenge for Joe Biden to choose a successor to Ron Klain,” Whipple said. “Those are huge shoes to fill. Klain belongs to an elite company among the best White House chiefs of staff.»
“You have to know how to run the White House; you have to know Capitol Hill inside out; and you have to be able to drive the president and drive up and down. She is in a 30-year relationship with Joe Biden. They were like an old married couple.»
A president’s first chief of staff typically stays in office for about two years. Trump replaced his first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, early, just six months after taking office. Former President Barack Obama’s first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, left after the midterm elections.
mike memoli Y kristen welker contributed.
