The President of the United States, Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, has reportedly made his intention of resignation known to the presidency, as he is expected to leave his role in the coming weeks.
New York Times reported that Klain would likely leave after the president’s State of the Union address on 7 February, although, an exact timeline was not given.
The departure of the veteran political operative would definitely cause a major change in the White House, where Klain manages Biden’s schedule and drives his policy agenda.
Klain has spent spent decades as one of Biden’s top aides, first in the Senate and later when Biden was vice-president.
He was also an adviser and speechwriter on Biden’s unsuccessful 1988 and 2008 White House campaigns.
The 61-year-old was also a senior White House aide to former President, Barack Obama and chief of staff to Vice-President, Al Gore.
A successor has not yet been decided, reports say. A series of potential replacements have been listed by the publication, including the Labour Secretary, Marty Walsh and another of Biden’s senior aides, Anita Dunn.
Klain is the longest serving first chief of staff of any Democratic president. The role is known to have a high turnover rate – former President Donald Trump, for example, had four chiefs of staff during his four-year term.