Obama picks chief of staff
WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday named veteran political manager William Daley to be his new chief of staff, selecting a centrist with Wall Street ties to help navigate a newly divided Congress and a looming re-election.
WASHINGTON - President Obama yesterday named veteran political manager William Daley to be his new chief of staff, selecting a centrist with Wall Street ties to help navigate a newly divided Congress and a looming re-election.
The appointment came the day after Republicans officially assumed control of the House and increased their numbers in the Senate.
Daley, who served as Commerce secretary for President Bill Clinton, offers criteria Obama wants for the new environment in Washington: an outsider's perspective, credibility with the business community, familiarity with the ways of the Cabinet and experience in navigating divided government.
Daley replaces Pete Rouse, the interim chief of the past three months, who did not want the position permanently. He will remain as a counselor to the president.
Daley's brother, Richard, is the mayor of Chicago, the post that Obama's first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, left his job in October to seek. The Daley brothers are sons of Richard J. Daley, who was Chicago's mayor from 1955 to his death in 1976.
Daley helped Clinton pass the North American Free Trade Agreement before joining his Cabinet. Later, he ran Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and the historic recount effort that ended with Gore conceding the race to George W. Bush.
When Obama launched his presidential campaign, the Daley family put aside its deep connections to Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton and endorsed the young Illinois senator.
