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Biden’s ‘Invisible’ COVID Chief to Be Replaced

Just last month, Jeff Zients was being touted as a possible White House chief of staff after a “swift” ascension in Biden World.

President Joe Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator, whose performance has received mixed reviews, will leave the job in April to be replaced by Brown University School of Public Health Dean Dr. Ashish Jha, Biden said Thursday. While the number of COVID cases has plunged in recent weeks, Zients’ tenure was marked by several variant-fueled surges, mixed messages on masking, huge numbers of COVID deaths, and lackluster results in persuading vaccine holdouts. “Fire Jeff Zients,” a stark headline in The American Prospect read in January. But, as Politico reported in February, Zients remained largely “invisible”—he gave few media interviews and has no social media—allowing him to escape much of the criticism. He was even floated as a possible White House chief of staff after a “swift” ascension in Biden World, Politico reported. Zients had a business background whereas Jha is a practicing internist and doctor who has advocated for aggressive action to keep COVID in check.