What happened:
White House chief of staff Ron Klain announced he is stepping down next month. He will be replaced by Jeff Zients, a former Bain consultant who served alongside Dr. Anthony Fauci as the Biden administration's COVID-19 czar from January 2021 to April 2022.
Why it matters:
Being the president's chief of staff is a tough gig under any circumstances. When the president is Joe Biden, a cognitively compromised octogenarian requiring full-time care and supervision, the White House chief of staff is basically the most important job in the world. The American people deserve to know if Zients is up to the task. Evaluating his record as COVID czar, for example, should give us some insight into his leadership skills.
COVID-19 deaths on Zients's watch:
• 573,648 total
• 38,243 per month
• 9,106 per week
• 1,301 per day
• 54 per hour
• 1 per minute
Context:
About 400,000 Americans died from COVID-19 under former president Donald Trump, who was repeatedly accused of having "blood on his hands."
Bottom line:
Actually being good at one's job and delivering results is not a requirement for professional advancement within the Democratic Party.
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