Biden picks Zients as his next White House chief of staff

By SEUNG MIN KIM and ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has announced Jeff Zients as his next White House chief of staff, tapping an experienced technocrat who headed his administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The move came Friday as the Democratic president prepares for a reelection bid while facing investigations from a newly empowered House Republican majority. Zients succeeds Ron Klain, a longtime fixture in Biden’s political orbit who led the White House through highs such as passage of a massive infrastructure bill and the Democrats’ climate, health care and tax law and lows such as the botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.