President Obama named his longtime foreign policy aide and “great friend” Denis McDonough as his fifth chief of staff on Friday as part of a broader second term reshuffling of White House posts.
McDonough, most recently the president’s deputy national security adviser, began working for Obama nearly a decade ago in the U.S. Senate.
He has since become a member of the president’s inner circle and was one of the small group of administration officials in the Situation Room during the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
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During the East Room announcement, Obama said McDonough was known for visiting active duty troops and wounded soldiers to learn about their needs directly.
“Then he comes back here to the White House, and he gets it done,” Obama said. “That’s the kind of focus and the kind of heart I want here in the White House.”
The 43-year-old grew up in Minnesota as one of 11 children. Two of his brothers are priests. He graduated from St. John’s University in his home state and received a master’s degree from Georgetown University.
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McDonough replaces Jack Lew, who was nominated to succeed Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Lew followed Rahm Emanuel, William Daly and Pete Rouse as Obama’s top adviser in the West Wing.
His appointment was the highest-profile change in a broader series of second-term staff changes announced Friday. They included moving Vice President Biden’s national security adviser, Tony Blinken, into McDonough’s former post.
Also, Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco was picked to take over as Obama’s counterterrorism adviser after John Brennan’s confirmation to head the CIA.
With News Wire Services.
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