A new chief of staff with a strong development background is coming to the White House.
On Monday (Jan. 9), President Barack Obama announced Jacob “Jack” Lew is the new White House chief of staff. The director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget will be replacing William Daley, who submitted his resignation last week.
In a statement released by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition — a broad-based influential network of businesses, nongovernmental organizations, national security and foreign policy experts, and academic and community leaders — executive director Liz Schrayer said the coalition welcomes the announcement of Lew as new chief of staff and looks forward to working with him.
“He is a strong voice with an understanding of America’s role in the world. At a time of great challenge, both here and overseas, Jack understands the critical role of development and diplomacy in advancing our national interests,” she said. “Jack will bring the same thoughtful and strategic leadership that he brought to OMB and the State Department on these issues to his new role.”
Lew has had extensive experience in the White House and on Capitol Hill.
He served as policy advisor to House Speaker Thomas O’Neill from 1979 to 1987, and was the speaker’s liaison to the Greenspan Commission, which was responsible for domestic and economic issues. He also served former President Bill Clinton as special assistant to the president and helped design the national service program, Americorps.
In 2009, after working in the private sector, Lew came back to public office to be the first deputy secretary of state for management and resources, serving as the State Department’s chief operating officer. As COO, Lew was involved in managing, constructing and defending the State Department’s budget. He was one of the leaders who pushed to increase U.S. civilian engagement in Afghanistan and supervised the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which outlines reforms meant to streamline and strengthen the operations of the department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. He also ran the State Department when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was abroad.
In July 2010, he received a nomination from President Obama to head OMB, a position he held previously under the Clinton Administration.
No announcements were made on who will succeed Lew as budget director. His deputy, Heather Higginbottom, and Congressional liaison Rob Nabors, however, are considered strong contenders for the position, The New York Times reports.
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