Ron Klain: Joe Biden confirms longtime adviser as chief of staff

The veteran Democrat handled the US response to the ebola crisis

Ron Klain has been appointed as chief of staff by president-elect Joe Biden. AFP

US president-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday announced he has chosen Ron Klain, a seasoned Democratic operative, as his chief of staff, his first public personnel choice for the White House.

"Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together," Mr Biden said on Mr Klain, who also served as the Democrat's first chief of staff when he became vice president in 2009.

"His deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again," Mr Biden said.

Mr Klain, 59, also worked with Mr Biden when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Afterwards, he served as chief of staff to vice president Al Gore. Under president Barack Obama, Mr Klain co-ordinated the White House response to the ebola crisis in 2014.

Mr Klain said it was "the honour of a lifetime" to be named Mr Biden's chief of staff.

"I look forward to helping him and the vice president-elect assemble a talented and diverse team to work in the White House, as we tackle their ambitious agenda for change, and seek to heal the divides in our country," Mr Klain said.

President Donald Trump lost the November 3 election according to all major US media projections, but he so far has refused to concede and is mounting an extensive legal fight aimed at overturning the result.

A key government agency, the General Services Administration, has also declined to formally acknowledge that Mr Biden is the president-elect, holding up funding and co-operation to Mr Biden's transition process.

Mr Klain's selection drew wide praise from Democrats, and even one prominent Republican voice.

Elizabeth Warren, Democratic senator, called Mr Klain a "super choice" because he "understands the magnitude of the health and economic crisis and he has the experience to lead this next administration through it".

Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt called Mr Klain "a terrific choice by the president-elect" and a "serious student" of pandemic risk.

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In Pictures: Joe Biden's career through the decades

Senator Joe Biden with his sons Beau, left, and Hunter and his future wife Jill in an undated photo. AFP

US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., announces on September 23, 1987 that he is withdrawing from the race for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, as his wife Jill grasps his arm. AFP

US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., speaks on July 13, 1989 before a House of Representatives panel about flag burning. Biden, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told House members that his bill to outlaw flag burning was the best way to overcome the Supreme Court ruling which protects the action as a form of free speech. Other lawmakers insisted that only a onstitutional amendment would suffice. AFP

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) speaks to reporters in front of a Danish U.N. armoured personnel carrier at the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia April 9, 1993. REUTERS

US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., speaks to reporters after meeting with US President Bill Clinton at the White House on February 10, 1995 to discuss Dr. Henry Foster's nomination for surgeon general. Calling Clinton's choice a "political blunder in teh extreme", Biden told reporters that the president should withdraw the nomination and move on. AFP

US President George W. Bush answers reporter's questions prior to a bipartisan meeting with congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House, 25 July 2001. Listening are Senator Joe Biden D-DE and Senator John Warner (R-VA). AFP

US Senators Ted Kennedy (L), D-MA, Joe Biden (C), D-DE, and Barbara Mikulski (R), D-MD, tour ground zero 20 September 2001 in New York, nine days after the destruction of the World Trade Center. AFP

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon laughs with Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Senator Joe Biden during a meeting at the US Capitol 11 June 2002. AFP

Colombian President Andres Pastrana is greeted 17 April, 2002, by Sen. Joe Biden, D-DE, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the US Capitol in Washington, DC before Pastrana met with that committee. AFP

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri attends a meeting with Sen. Joe Biden, (D-DE), and other members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee 17 April 2002 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP

US Senator Joseph Biden Jr. (R-DE) hosts King Abdullah of Jordan and Queen Rania at a Senate Foreign Relations luncheon 08 May, 2002 during their visit to the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP

Democratic presidential hopefuls US Senator Joe Biden, US Senator Barack Obama and US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton arrive at the Democratic Party Presidential Primary Debate, 26 April 2007, at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. AFP

Demoratic Delaware Senator Joe Biden speaking with unidentified soldiers about the effectiveness and life-saving technology of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle(rear) during a visit to Ramadi, Iraq, 06 September, 2007. AFP

Actress Angelina Jolie, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and Sen. Joseph Biden ,D-DE, take their seats before a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill 28 September, 2005 in Washington, DC. AFP

US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, running mate Delware Senator Joe Biden with his wife Jill greet people gathered on the lawn of the Old State Capitol on August 23, 2008 in Springfield, Illinois. AFP

US Vice President Joe R. Biden waits for a meeting with US President Barack Obama and Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Oval Office of the White House October 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP

British Prime Minister David Cameron greets Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States of America, at the UK ambassador's residence on July 20, 2010 in Washington, DC. AFP

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden shakes hands with seven-year-old Gao Shan, the boy Biden proclaimed as the future president of China, during a visit to the village of Yanzikou, north of Beijing, 10 August 2001. AFP

US President Barack Obama awards Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a tribute to Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 12, 2017. AFP

U.S. President Barack Obama, front, embraces U.S. Vice President Joe Biden after his farewell address in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Obama blasted "zero-sum" politics as he drew a sharp contrast with his successor in his farewell address Tuesday night, acknowledging that despite his historic election eight years ago his vision for the country will exit the White House with him. Bloomberg

Cindi Leive, Dr. Jill Biden, and Joe Biden speak onstage during Glamour Celebrates 2017 Women Of The Year Live Summit at Brooklyn Museum on November 13, 2017 in New York City. Getty Images