Biden Appoints 'COVID Coordinator' Jeff Zients as White House Chief of Staff

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] U.S. President Joe Biden has appointed Jeff Zients (56), former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, as the new Chief of Staff.

According to the White House, President Biden officially announced his appointment as Chief of Staff in a statement on the 27th (local time).

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Economic expert Zients, the new Chief of Staff, served as co-chair of Biden's presidential transition team and was the White House COVID-19 Coordinator and presidential advisor overseeing the COVID-19 response until April last year after the Biden administration took office.

At that time, he led federal government efforts such as vaccine distribution and played a role in gradually shifting the U.S. government's COVID-19 response from a wartime level to an endemic level. Since the second half of last year, he has been advising on personnel matters for the latter half of the Biden administration and has been mentioned as a candidate for the next Chief of Staff. Previously, during the Obama administration, he served as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Chair of the National Economic Council (NEC).

Accordingly, the new Chief of Staff Zients will be responsible for implementing legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS Act during the remaining two years of President Biden's term.

In his statement, President Biden emphasized, "When I ran for president, I promised to build a government that works for the American people. That is what Jeff will do," adding, "The big challenge ahead is to implement the laws we have passed effectively and fairly."

Additionally, the new Chief of Staff Zients will also address issues such as the leaked classified documents that surfaced ahead of President Biden's 2024 re-election campaign.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.