step down in the weeks after State of the Union.


White House chief of staff Ron Klain, the powerful force at the center of Joe Biden’s first two years in office, is expected to step down in the weeks after the president’s State of the Union address, according to multiple people familiar.

Klain’s exact timeline is still not set, the sources said, and he is expected to stay in the West Wing for a period of time to help with the transition period for his replacement, one of the people said.

The State of the Union address is set for February 7.Klain has long telegraphed his intent to leave at some point after the midterm elections, noting publicly – and in a more detailed manner privately – the grueling and exhausting nature of the position.

But Klain’s deeply ingrained presence in nearly every aspect of the West Wing, along with his decades long relationship with Biden, had led some White House officials to urge him to stay in the role for an extended period of time.

Still, officials have been quietly weighing his potential replacements, with names including Steve Ricchetti, the counselor to the president and one of Biden’s closest advisers for years;

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack; Labor Secretary Marty Walsh; Jeff Zients, the former Obama administration official who ran Biden’s Covid-19 response operation; and Anita Dunn, the senior adviser who runs the White House communications and messaging operation, among others.Dunn has said publicly she has no desire to serve in the role and has repeated that sentiment privately, officials said, though a person familiar said that Dunn has expressed interest in being the first female chief of staff.Klain’s decision to step down is not related to the investigation underway about classified documents found at Biden’s private office and Delaware residence, an official familiar with his plans said,  that with the decision being made before the special counsel was announced.

Last edited by Spunky (1/21/2023 3:30 pm)