Obama to name Ron Klain as Ebola 'czar'

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will name Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to two vice presidents, as his Ebola "czar," two administration officials said Friday. Klain is a former chief of staff to vice presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore, and was considered for the same position under President Obama before he tapped Denis McDonough. His appointment marks a swift turnabout for Obama., who until Thursday had resisted calls to appoint a single official to run the government's response to Ebola. Asked Thursday about the prospect of an "Ebola czar," Obama told reporters: "It may make sense for us to have one person, in part just so that after this initial surge of activity we can have a more regular process just to make sure that we're crossing all the T's and dotting all the I's going forward." Klain also played a high-profile file in Gore's 2000 presidential campaign; Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey portrayed him in an HBO movie on that year's Florida recount. In his new role, Klain will be responsible for coordinating the administration's "whole of government" response to Ebola, a White House official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, pending a formal announcement of the appointment. Klain will report to two top officials who have also been involved in the anti-Ebola effort: Homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco and national security adviser Susan Rice. Obama is pleased with the work of Monaco and Rice, but "given their management of other national and homeland security priorities, additional bandwidth will further enhance the government's Ebola response," the official said. The administration has come under increased pressure to name an anti-Ebola coordinator in the wake of news that two nurses in Dallas had contracted the deadly virus. Both had been treating a man who died of Ebola.