Why Chief of Staff Is “the Hardest Job in Washington”

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The New Yorker

President, Barack, News, Politics, Wnyc, Obama, Lizza, Washington, Wickenden

4.3 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The White House chief of staff is the second most powerful but hardest gig in Washington, D.C. Dick Cheney blamed the job for giving him his first heart attack, during the Ford Administration. A hapless chief of staff can break a Presidency; effective ones get nicknamed the Velvet Hammer. On Friday, the Biden Administration announced that Ron Klain will depart as chief of staff, after two long years in the job. The staff writers Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos gather for their weekly conversation to look at what Klain accomplished and what to expect from his replacement, Jeffrey Zients.

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Transcript

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0:47.4	I did have part of a Jeffrey Zines bagel this morning.
0:50.7	People don't realize that's really what he's...
0:52.3	It's the best name for a bagel shop. It really is. Call your mother. Call your mother. People don't realize that's what he's actually famous for in Washington.
0:59.4	They are actually the best bagels. As a New Yorker, I feel qualified to say this. Now, I mean, the best bagels in Washington. Exactly. Exactly. I have to say they're really not as good as the bagels in New York.
1:11.2	No, no, but as Washington goes, they're really good.
1:14.4	Keep it civil.
1:14.9	Okay.
1:15.9	We are agreeing.
1:19.0	A rare point of agreement in Washington. We've found the topic of agreement.
1:22.9	Wait, we could probably still argue.
1:24.8	You know, there's always lines there.
1:26.2	Everything bagel versus sesame.
2:01.4	I mean, I think you have to go sesame. Okay. Because otherwise you drown out the flavor of the bagel. Well, I agree with that. My generally prefer poppy seed bagels, but they do not have them there. So, again, I have to tell you. I don't. I don't. Jeff Zines's armor. They have those Zatar These are, you guys are both delusional and wrong. The everything bagel is so clearly the superior bagel. And I honestly am kind of shocked. You know, that's you. That's man. You have to have conflict. And you have to have everything. I want it all. I want it all. I want it all. And I want it all in one place.
	...

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