This will mark
a significant shift
in the leadership at the White House.
As CNN
has confirmed, chief of Staff
Ron Klain is expected
to step down from his post
in the coming weeks.
Sources
saying that that is expected to happen
after the State of the Union address,
which is currently set for February 7th,
but that Clinton would stay on its
for a bit of
a transition period as they work
towards his replacement.
Now, this comes as Clayne
has steered the ship at the White House
since the beginning
of Biden's presidency.
Seen accomplishments
such as steering the country
and getting COVID.
19 relief passed up on Capitol Hill.
There was also that massive
infrastructure bill
as well as invest historic investments
when it comes to climate change
initiatives, of course.
There have also been a host of challenges
facing this administration
that Clayne has overseen,
including the withdrawal
from Afghanistan.
Some low approval ratings
for President Biden,
as well as
the issues involving the economy
and the inflation.
But this comes
as really
there has been relatively low turnover
in this White House.
Clean is
perhaps the most high profile official
so far.
Who could be leaving in the coming weeks.
Of course, this is a very grueling job.
Sources have said that he has talked
for quite some time
about the possibility of stepping down.
It is very rare for a chief of staff
to stay in this position
for all four years.
And pretty soon,
the topics of conversation
will start to shift
on who to who exactly will be
replacing him.
Officials have quietly been
speaking about this
in a few potential replacements
on the table
include Steve Ricchetti,
who's been served as a longtime adviser
and counselor to the president.
Also, Jeffrey Zients,
who led the COVID 19 response
at the White House before leaving
within the last year.
There is also Anita Dunn,
another longtime
adviser to the president,
and then to two Cabinet secretaries
who could also be considered.
That's Tom Vilsack
the agriculture secretary,
and also Marty Walsh,
the labor secretary.
So, so much of the focus
as the White House is preparing for clean
to possibly leave in
the coming weeks
will be focused on
who exactly that replacement will be.
All right.
We know
shortages
of stories between now
and then on who the
next chief of staff will be
that that is going to be
a very interesting story to watch.
Thank you very much.
Joining me
now, a former Republican congressman
from Pennsylvania, Charlie Dent,
and Democratic strategist
and former Clinton White House aide,
Keith Boykin. Keith.
This kind of turnover is not anything new
when it comes to administrations.
We've seen this happen time and again.
What do you make of this news
and the impact
it will have on the administration?
I mean, you can't dismiss it too much.
Ron Klain is a
a very big deal in this Biden
White House.
Yeah, you're right, Jim.
And I do like Ron Klain.
I think he's been a very effective
chief of staff for the White House.
And he's helped to steer
through important legislation
through Congress
got the COVID relief bill,
the infrastructure bill,
the Inflation
Reduction Act, the prescription drugs
reduction, you know, all these things
that are really important.
It wouldn't have happened without Ron
Klain's leadership.
He's someone who was admired
and respected for some time.
I worked with him
back in the Clinton administration
back in the nineties.
So it's going to be hard to
fill his shoes,
I think, to be able to replace him
But having said that,
you know, I think this is not unusual.
As you said, it's
not surprising to have a turnover
at this point after two years.
At this point
in the Trump administration.
I think they're already
on their third chief of staff.
So having one chief of staff last
this long is pretty impressive.
And I'm not sure who
the replacement will be,
but I'm hoping
that'll be
someone who is not a white man, honestly,
because every chief of staff
in the history of this country
has been a white man at the White House.
And it's time,
I think,
for the other 70% of
the population to be represented
So I think, you know,
people like Anita Dunn and Susan
Rice and other names I've heard
are welcome to be
included in the discussion.
Yeah.
I wonder if Susan Rice
will come up in this conversation.
I suspect she will in the coming days.
And Charlie, let me ask you this.
I mean, what do you think?
Is this the time
for the president
to make these kinds
of changes on his team?
I mean, he's coming out of this
country
still in the middle of this controversy
over the classified documents.
And he's weighing this very big decision
about whether or not
he's going to run for reelection.
Well, I'm not surprised
that there is this turnover right now
with Ron Klain.
Look, being
chief of staff is,
as it been pointed out, is a brutal job.
They treat you like a pinata,
at least members of Congress.
Do they really do
beat on these chiefs of staff?
It's a tough job.
But, you know,
they're heading into a
likely campaign season.
And when that happens,
look, I can see why there is a change.
I mean,
who knows what Ron Klain
would do on the outside?
I'm sure he's going to stay
in the Biden orbit
and probably very involved
with his reelection campaign.
So there's going to be moving
some people around, I suspect.
I'm not surprised.
It probably makes sense
if he is, in fact,
going to run for reelection.
But I suspect
the movement was largely due to
the fact that this is a brutal job
and he's done his two years.
He has a lot that he can say
that he accomplished.
And and that's why he's moving on.
And, Keith,
this is all
happening as the White House
is contending
with a Republican controlled House.
So the next chief of staff
who comes in as
is might have a decidedly more
difficult position
when they become chief of staff.
But the new House
Oversight Committee,
for example, includes some Republicans
who have been pushing
these deranged
conspiracy theories, Marjorie
Taylor Greene,
who claimed
a plane
or suggested that a plane
did not hit the Pentagon on nine 11.
Paul Gosar,
who is appeared
at a white supremacist conference.
Scott Perry,
who is a key figure in the effort
to help Trump subvert
the 2020 election results.
Lauren Boebert and so on and so on.
What do you think?
I mean, how does the next chief of staff
how does this
next team, I
suppose the next chief of staff
will have his own team or her own team
that comes on board with that person?
How do they handle all this
Well, I think Ron Klain
sort of set the model,
even though he wasn't dealing with a
resistant Congress
because Congress
was in the control of the Democrats.
But I think that he kind of
was a low
key, low profile chief of staff.
I mean,
everyone in Washington knew him,
but he wasn't on the on the on the shows
all the time.
He did his rounds.
We needed to,
but he wasn't the most visible voice
in the administration.
I think that that's got to be a model.
I would think,
depending on the personality,
the person who follows up.
But I would think I'd be a useful model
for this administration,
especially given
the Republican controlled House,
because I think they're going
to self-destruct
I think it's the job of the White House
to sort of let them self-destruct.
You know, from a political point of view,
let them continue to be obstructionist,
let them investigate issues
that aren't there.
Let them make fools of themselves
while the White House is busy
doing people's work.
And I think that's the strategy
that the president is going to be using,
not only effectively for his second
two years of his administration, but for
his campaign.