Although the White House has yet to make it official, there were numerous published reports Sunday evening that former COVID-19 counterattack chief Jeffrey Zients was the new chief of staff to President Joe Biden.
Should Zients, a veteran of the Obama administration and onetime CEO of the Advisory Board Co., succeed outgoing White House chief of staff Ron Klain, it will be a triumph for pragmatists over the more leftist figures in the Biden administration, sources tell Newsmax.
Almost to a person, the same sources agree, leftists preferred either White House counselor Susan Rice or Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.
But the more pragmatic Zients is instead poised to assume the helm of the White House staff, reportedly with the blessings of the president's sister, Valerie, and first lady Jill Biden.
"Valerie and Dr. Jill have the last word, I would say," said Christopher Whipple, author of the critically-acclaimed book on White House chiefs of staff entitled "The Gatekeepers."
Whipple, whose latest book "The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House" was released Jan. 17, told Newsmax that "if Jeff Zients is in fact Biden's choice to replace Ron Klain ... it's interesting on many levels. First, it would be a loss for womanhood — we'll have to keep on waiting for a female to crack the glass ceiling in the West Wing's corner office.
"Secondly, because Zients lacks Klain's political chops, it could mean that [White House staffers] Steve Ricchetti, Anita Dunn, and Jen O'Malley will play a greater role in the running of the White House. Will progressives miss having Ron Klain around? Probably. Would they have preferred Susan Rice or Marty Walsh? Maybe, but I don't think Jeff Zients or anyone except Joe Biden will be calling the shots on policy."
At 56, Zients would easily be the wealthiest person to hold the White House chief of staff position. Fortune Magazine estimated his net worth to be $139 million when he was 35 and, in leaving his position as CEO of the Wall Street investment firm Cranemere in 2020, Zients reportedly earned a salary and bonus of $1.6 million.
He served as director of the National Economic Council and deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget under then-President Obama and was dubbed "a kind of ambassador to the business community" by The Wall Street Journal.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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