It was an emotional evening for outgoing White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who teared up as he said goodbye to his boss, President Joe Biden, as well as his staff and the American people on Wednesday night.

What You Need To Know

  • Outgoing White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain handed the position over to Jeff Zients with gratitude Wednesday night at the White House

  • Klain worked for President Joe Biden during Biden's stints both as Vice President and as U.S. Senator

  • Working as chief of staff for just more than two years, Klain held the job longer than 8 of his last 9 precedecessors

  • Zients, who overhauled healthcare.gov in its early days, will seek to implement Biden's legislative agenda as the president conisders a second term in the White House

“I knew this day would come, but, to state the obvious, that doesn’t make it any easier,” Biden said. “I knew the moment he started, he ws a once in a generation talent…and just as important, he has a heart as big as his head,” the president added, with a grin.

The White House announced last week that Klain would step down, to be replaced by Jeff Zients. Zients served as a coordinator to Biden’s COVID-19 response team, and previously held positions in the Obama era Office of Management and Budget, the National Economic Council and oversaw fixes and a relaunch to HealthCare.gov.

“I will try to keep this brief, but I cannot promise that there will not be some tears,” Klain said after he — for a change — was offered the lectern by President Biden. “This is the best job I have ever had.”

Prior to becoming White House chief of staff, Biden worked as chief of staff to then-vice president Al Gore from 1995 to 1999, and Biden from 2009 to 2011. He was appointed to Barack Obama’s White House Ebola Response team in 2014, then in 2020 worked as a senior advisor to Biden’s successful presidential campaign. But before all that, he worked on Biden’s staff during his time in the U.S. Senate.

“I will soon be forgotten. But what will not be forgotten is the work we have done together these two years,” Klain said, running down a list of the Biden administration’s successes — COVID response, economic recovery, judicial appointments, health care legislation, climate bills and gun control legislation, among many other actions.

“That’s not bad. And it is especially not bad for a president and a team that was written off for dead in the winter of 2019, and for dead again in the winter of 2020, and for dead in the winter of 2021 and for dead again the first week of 2022,” Klain said to laughter and applause. “The president likes to say, it is never a good bet to bet against the American people. And he is right. But it is never a good bet to bet against Joe Biden and this team.”

In his resignation letter, Klain noted that he has served longer than eight of the last nine chiefs of staff, and that it is time for someone else — Zients — to take over.

“It has been a privilege of a lifetime to have worked with you through some of the most difficult moments in our nation’s history,” Zients said, upon taking the lectern from Klain. “Throughout it all, on of the many things I’ve greatly admired is your deep sense of purpose and duty to care for every single American. That example filters down to everyone who you work with, who works for you…a team that believes empathy and a moral compas matter. All of it in servies to a responsive, results-oriented government that helps make people’s lives better.”

The outgoing chief of staff also gave a nod to President Biden's looming decision about whether to seek another term in the White House.

"As I did in 1988, 2008 and 2020, I look forward to being on your side when you run for president in 2024," Klain said.

Zients will be tasked with steering White House staff and implementing legislative goals in the final two years of Biden's term, as Biden gears up for a potential reelection campaign in 2024.