<p><span>The White House chief-of-staff role is the 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; an effective one was nicknamed the Velvet Hammer. In January, Joe Biden’s first chief of staff, </span><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/what-ron-klain-learned-in-the-white-house"><span>Ron Klain</span></a><span>, was replaced by Jeffrey Zients. In a conversation from last winter, the staff writers </span><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-b-glasser"><span>Susan B. Glasser</span></a><span>, </span><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jane-mayer"><span>Jane Mayer</span></a><span>, and </span><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/evan-osnos"><span>Evan Osnos</span></a><span> use Klain’s departure as a jumping-off point to discuss what it’s actually like to run a White House. </span></p>
The White House chief-of-staff role is the 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; an effective one was nicknamed the Velvet Hammer. In January, Joe Biden’s first chief of staff, Ron Klain, was replaced by Jeffrey Zients. In a conversation from last winter, the staff writers Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos use Klain’s departure as a jumping-off point to discuss what it’s actually like to run a White House.