Ron Klain's appointment as Joe Biden's chief of staff reflects the president-elect's prioritisation of loyalty and experience and is the antithesis of Donald Trump’s approach over the last four years.
Mr Klain, 59, is a lawyer, political consultant and skilled Washington operator who started his journey in the US capital clerking for Supreme Court Justice Bryon White in 1987. His relationship with Mr Biden goes back to 1989 when Mr Klain was chief counsel at the Senate judiciary committee.
Mr Klain has accompanied Mr Biden through different chapters of his political life in Washington. He became his chief of staff as Vice President from 2009 to 2011, and then served as President Barack Obama’s Ebola response co-ordinator in 2014-2015. That experience will help Mr Biden push forward his top policy priority to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic that has already claimed over 240,000 lives in the United States.
It’s Mr Klain’s relationship with the president-elect, experience with an epidemic, ability to manage a bureaucratic operation and work across the aisle with Republicans in Congress that made his resume appealing.
In pictures: Joe Biden's career
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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
“Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together … 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 in a statement.
The pick also offers a complete contrast with the Trump approach to choosing his chief of staff. In four years, President Donald Trump went through four appointments to the position: Reince Priebus, John Kelly, Mick Mulvaney and outgoing chief of staff Mark Meadows. Each of their tenures was marked with a level of chaos, flashy headlines and loud clashes with Mr Trump's inner circle, especially his family members.
With Mr Klain’s pick, Mr Biden is trying to highlight stability and steadiness in running the day to day operations from the White House. His pick is more similar to George W Bush appointing Andrew Card or Bill Clinton appointing Leon Panetta. Both had effective runs in one of the most powerful positions in Washington, and worked well with the legislative branch.
Mr Klain’s pick is also indicative of future nominations and appointments that Mr Biden will make. Other experienced names in US politics such as former Chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen and Senator Chris Coons have been floated for the Treasury and Secretary of State positions. Unlike Mr Klain, these positions require confirmation from Congress.
Mr Biden will also have to balance different wings in his party. Leftist Senator Bernie Sanders confirmed to CNN his interest in becoming the Secretary of Labour under Mr Biden. The president-elect’s former primary rivals Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren have also shown interest in serving in the next administration.
