President Obama to Name Denis McDonough Chief of Staff - Josh Gerstein
President Barack Obama plans to name Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough as his next chief of staff, a Democratic source briefed on the plans tells POLITICO. McDonough would replace Jack Lew, whom Obama nominated to be his new Treasury secretary.
By selecting McDonough, Obama is opting for the familiar: a trusted aide who’s been at his side since the 2008 campaign and is credited with keeping the administration’s internal wheels turning smoothly on foreign policy issues.
But McDonough brings less experience than his predecessors with another typical part of the job: fielding sometimes angry salvos from members of Congress with home-district concerns about aspects of the administration’s policy or budget decisions.
McDonough has been involved in just about every major national security decision made by Obama since he took office, from the surge in U.S. troops in Afghanistan to the launching of the commando raid that killed Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
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