WASHINGTON, D.C. (MCT) — William Daley is stepping down as White House chief of staff and budget director Jack Lew is taking over President Barack Obama’s team as it heads into a tough election year.
Daley gave his letter of resignation to the president in a private meeting in the Oval Office last week, recounting the administration’s successes of his one year on the job and saying it was time for him to return to his hometown of Chicago.
Obama announced the change in leadership in a public event Monday afternoon. The official shift will take place at the end of the month, giving Lew time to complete the administration’s budget proposal while Daley leads the team through the crafting of the State of the Union address due in two weeks.
The choice of Lew puts a veteran staffer of the White House, Capitol Hill and State Department in a critical position at a difficult time for the president. Obama hopes he can work through tough budget and economic issues with Congress this year despite fierce opposition from Republicans in the GOP-led House. Having a strong team captain who can deal with lawmakers, staffers and business leaders is considered crucial to their strategy.
But aides say Obama had faith in Daley to lead that effort, and that he had not been discussing making any changes prior to last week.
In October, Daley told Chicago reporters that he was looking forward to returning to his hometown but that he would serve the president through the duration of the re-election campaign.
