Jeff Zients Explained

Jeff Zients
Office:31st White House Chief of Staff
President:Joe Biden
Deputy:Jen O'Malley Dillon
Bruce Reed
Natalie Quillian
Annie Tomasini
Term Start:February 8, 2023
Predecessor:Ron Klain
Office1:Counselor to the President
President1:Joe Biden
Alongside1:Steve Ricchetti
Term Start1:January 20, 2021
Term End1:April 5, 2022
Predecessor1:Hope Hicks
Derek Lyons
Office2:White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator
President2:Joe Biden
Term Start2:January 20, 2021
Term End2:April 5, 2022
Predecessor2:Deborah Birx
Successor2:Ashish Jha
Deputy2:Natalie Quillian
Office3:10th Director of the National Economic Council
President3:Barack Obama
Term Start3:March 5, 2014
Term End3:January 20, 2017
Predecessor3:Gene Sperling
Successor3:Gary Cohn
Office4:Director of the Office of Management and Budget
President4:Barack Obama
Deputy4:Heather Higginbottom
Term Label4:Acting
Term Start4:January 27, 2012
Term End4:April 24, 2013
Predecessor4:Jack Lew
Successor4:Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Term Label5:Acting
President5:Barack Obama
Deputy5:Jeffrey Liebman
Term Start5:July 30, 2010
Term End5:November 18, 2010
Predecessor5:Peter R. Orszag
Successor5:Jack Lew
Office6:1st Chief Performance Officer of the United States
President6:Barack Obama
Term Start6:June 19, 2009
Term End6:October 16, 2013
Predecessor6:Position established
Successor6:Beth Cobert
Office7:Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget for Management
President7:Barack Obama
Term Start7:June 19, 2009
Term End7:October 16, 2013
Predecessor7:Clay Johnson III
Successor7:Beth Cobert
Birth Name:Jeffrey Dunston Zients
Birth Date:12 November 1966
Birth Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Party:Democratic
Spouse:Mary Menell
Education:Duke University (BA)

Jeffrey Dunston Zients (; born November 12, 1966) is an American business executive and a government official in the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden. Zients is currently serving as the 31st White House chief of staff. Earlier in the Biden administration, he served as counselor to the president and White House coronavirus response coordinator from January 2021 to April 2022.[1] [2] [3]

During the presidency of Barack Obama, Zients served as director of the National Economic Council from February 2014 to January 2017, served as acting director of the Office of Management and Budget in 2010 and from 2012 to 2013, and led the emergency effort to fix healthcare.gov after the troubled launch of that critical component of the Affordable Care Act.

Before entering government, Zients was an executive at firms including the Advisory Board Company and CEB. Zients joined the Biden administration after taking leave from his position as chief executive officer of Cranemere, an investment firm. He was a member of Facebook's board of directors from 2018 to 2020.[4]

Early life and education

Zients was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Kensington, Maryland.[5] His family is Jewish.[6] [7] Zients graduated from the St. Albans School in 1984 and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Duke University,[8] graduating summa cum laude in 1988.[9]

Early business career

After college, Zients worked in management consulting for Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman) and Bain & Company. As a consultant, Zients reportedly enjoyed the “culture, teamwork … and analytical rigor".[10] After management consulting, he was appointed the chief operating officer of DGB Enterprises, a holding company for the Advisory Board Company, Corporate Executive Board, and Atlantic Media Company.[11]

At age 35, Zients was named to Fortune Magazine's "40 under 40", with an estimated wealth of $149 million.[12]

Advisory board and corporate executive board

Zients was the chief operating officer (1996–1998), chief executive officer (1998–2000), and chairman (2001–2004) of the Advisory Board Company and former chairman (2000–2001) of the Corporate Executive Board.[13] Zients and David G. Bradley took each of the companies public through initial public offerings that made both men multimillionaires.[14]

Portfolio Logic

Zients founded and was the managing partner of Portfolio Logic LLC, an investment firm primarily focused on health care and business services. He was a member of the board of directors of XM Satellite Radio until its 2008 merger, and a board member at Sirius XM Radio until his Senate confirmation.[10] [15] Zients also sat on the boards of Revolution Health Group and Timbuk2 Designs.[16]

Baseball

In 2005, Zients formed a group with Colin Powell and Fred Malek, among others, to compete for the purchase of the Washington Nationals.[17] [18] The group planned for Malek to be the managing partner for the first three years, after which Zients would take over. The group was unsuccessful; the team was purchased by a group led by Ted Lerner.

Obama administration

Office of Management and Budget

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Zients to the new position of United States chief performance officer and deputy director for management (DDM) of the Office of Management and Budget.[19] [20] It was Zients's first governmental experience.[21]

According to Obama, his assignment was to help "streamline processes, cut costs, and find best practices throughout" the U.S. government. His nomination was approved by the Senate in June 2009.[22] [23] As DDM, Zients established and chaired the President's Management Council.[24]

Zients was the acting director of OMB from July 2010 to November 2010, and again from January 2012 to April 2013.[25] [26] [27]

Healthcare.gov

Following the error-plagued launch of healthcare.gov on October 1, 2013, Obama and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough asked Zients to take charge of fixing the website.[28] [29] [30] [31] While leading the "tech surge" to do that, Zients also had an ownership position in PSA Healthcare. The position of the White House was that Zients's stake in PSA Healthcare, a pediatric home health business, was not a conflict of interest.

National Economic Council

From 2014 to 2017, Zients was an assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council (NEC). Zients also chaired the President's Management Advisory Board.[32] The Wall Street Journal called Zients "a kind of ambassador to the business community",[10] and lobbying groups such as the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce praised Zients as someone who heard them out.

At NEC, Zients worked with the Department of Labor to finalize the fiduciary rule, also known as the conflict of interest rule. It required financial advisers to provide advice in their clients' best interest. The rule was strongly criticized by Wall Street leaders and business groups and was struck down by a federal appeals court in 2018.[33] [34]

In 2015, while NEC director, Zients described the Trans-Pacific Partnership as "a massive tax cut for American businesses".[35]

Return to the private sector

Facebook

Zients joined Facebook's board of directors in 2018, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.[36] While on Facebook's board, Zients chaired the Audit and Risk Oversight Committee.[37] [38] According to Facebook, he declined to seek re-election in 2020 "to devote more time to his business and other professional interests".[39] Zients was paid $100,000 in cash and roughly $300,000 in stock in exchange for his work on Facebook's audit committee.[38] As of December 2020, Zients had reportedly sold all of his holdings of Facebook stock.[38]

Cranemere

Zients was the CEO of the Wall Street investment firm Cranemere, an investment firm owned by Vincent Mai, for which he earned a combined salary and bonus of $1.6 million.[40], Zients was on leave from his position as chief executive officer of Cranemere.

In addition, Zients was an investor in the D.C.-based bagel deli startup Call Your Mother.[41]

Biden administration

In summer 2020, Politico reported that Saguaro Strategies, a media and consulting firm, heavily edited Zients's Wikipedia article as he became more prominent in the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign. For example, Zients had advocated for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which faced left-wing opposition, but the edit gave Zients's argument that it was "the most progressive trade agreement there’s ever been." It eliminated an Obama official's comment that he thought Zients was a Republican.[36]

, Zients was co-chair of the presidential transition of Joe Biden.[42] He was described as "an important power center in the Biden transition team" and noted as a candidate for several positions in the incoming administration.[34] On December 7, 2020, the Biden transition announced Zients's presumptive appointment as coordinator of the COVID-19 response and counselor to the president.[43] The absence of any comprehensive COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan at the time of the handover from the outgoing Trump administration became an urgent priority for Zients after the inauguration on January 20, 2021.[44]

In July 2021, Zients came under criticism for delaying the relaxation of travel restrictions between the US and Europe.[45]

In March 2022, Zients announced he would be leaving the Biden administration in April, to be succeeded as Coronavirus Response Coordinator by Ashish Jha.[46]

Zients was mentioned in an antisemitic flyer that originated in Australia in July 2022. The conspiracy theory posited that he and other Jewish people are part of a cabal responsible for COVID and a "COVID agenda".[47]

On January 22, 2023, it was reported that Zients would replace Ron Klain as the White House chief of staff in February. On February 8, 2023, following President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address the previous night, Zients took office to become the 31st White House chief of staff.

Notes and References

  1. News: Jeff Zients to be Biden's next chief of staff . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-01-22 . January 22, 2023. Tyler Pager. Yasmeen Abutaleb.
  2. Web site: Jeff Zients to replace Ron Klain as White House chief of staff. CNN. January 22, 2023. Phil Mattingly. Kaitlan Collins. January 22, 2023.
  3. Web site: Biden to tap former COVID czar Jeff Zients as new chief of staff. Fox News. January 22, 2023. Anders Hagstrom. Brooke Singman. Greg Wehner. January 22, 2023.
  4. http://buildbackbetter.gov/appointees-and-nominees/jeff-zients Jeff Zients – Build Back Better (Biden transition)
  5. Book: United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Nominations of Hon. Tara J. O'Toole and Jeffrey D. Zients. 2009-06-10. 148. Government Publishing Office. S. Hrg. 111-838.
  6. News: Meet the Four Jews Shaping the U.S. Economy . Guttman . Nathan . . February 28, 2013 . September 3, 2017 . September 3, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170903005548/http://forward.com/opinion/172080/meet-the-four-jews-shaping-the-us-economy/ . live .
  7. News: Shin. Annys. Zients Is at the Top of His Game. October 4, 2004. The Washington Post. September 3, 2017. March 24, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170324084855/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4258-2004Oct3.html. live.
  8. News: James. Frank. 2013-10-23. White House Turns To 'Rock Star' Manager For Obamacare Fix. 2020-12-04. NPR. en.
  9. Web site: On the Road highlight: Jeff Zients. 2020-12-20. Giving to Duke. en.
  10. News: Langley. Monica. 2012-07-13. The Businessman Behind the Obama Budget. en-US. The Wall Street Journal. live. 2020-06-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20170904203431/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303644004577523071816686902. September 4, 2017. 2574-9579. .
  11. Web site: June 27, 2003. Advisory Board Co. 10-K. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170704155831/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1157377/0000950133-03-002256.txt. July 4, 2017. 2009-04-29. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  12. News: Boorstin . Julia . Freedman . Jonah . Florian . Ellen . Krady . Scott . Levinstein . Joan . Miller . Matthew . Vazquez . Dana . June 2002 . America's 40 Richest Under 40 . CNN . 2010-11-11.
  13. News: Obama names Chopra, Zients to top posts. April 17, 2009. Washington Business Journal. Advance Publications. 2009-04-19. April 21, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090421020206/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/04/13/daily103.html. live.
  14. News: O'Keefe. Ed. 2009-04-18. Who Are Jeffrey Zients and Aneesh Chopra?. The Washington Post. 2009-04-19. May 31, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120531075636/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/04/obama_names_chief_performance.html. live.
  15. News: Zients Resigns from Sirius XM Board . Radio Ink . MediaSpan . June 23, 2009 . 2009-06-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090627092009/http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=1383160&spid=24698 . June 27, 2009 .
  16. News: O'Hara, Terence. There's More Than Baseball in Jeffrey Zients's Days. August 31, 2007. The Washington Post. 2009-04-19. March 1, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170301054035/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/29/AR2006012900520.html. live.
  17. News: Powell Joins Group Bidding On D.C. Baseball Team. June 13, 2005. 50. Jet. Johnson Publishing. 107. 24. 2009-04-19.
  18. News: Heath. Thomas. Malek, Zients Are Big Hitters in an All-Star Ownership Lineup. April 29, 2009. The Washington Post. 2009-04-29. October 15, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161015145702/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101668.html. live.
  19. News: Stolberg. Sheryl Gay. Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 2009-04-18. Obama Promises to Trim Federal Fat. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-12-05. 0362-4331.
  20. Web site: Obama . Barack . (Transcript) Weekly Address: President Obama Discusses Efforts to Reform Spending, Government Waste; Names Chief Performance Officer and Chief Technology Officer . April 18, 2009 . The White House . September 5, 2017 . September 6, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170906092025/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/realitycheck/the-press-office/weekly-address-president-obama-discusses-efforts-reform-spending-government-waste-n . live .
  21. News: Calmes. Jackie. 2013-09-13. Ex-White House Aide to Be Economic Adviser. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-12-05. 0362-4331.
  22. News: Brodsky, Robert. June 22, 2009. Zients confirmed as OMB's deputy director of management. National Journal Group. GovExec.com. 2009-06-22. June 26, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090626070523/http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0609/062209rb1.htm. dead.
  23. News: Meckler. Laura. Administration Seeks to Target Wasteful Spending. April 20, 2009. The Wall Street Journal. 2009-04-19. September 4, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170904204511/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124002247015831371. live.
  24. News: Lewis . Katherine Reynolds . Remaking the Bureaucracy: OMB's Zients Cuts Through the Red Tape . . June 14, 2010 . September 3, 2017 . September 5, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170905060637/http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2010/06/14/OMBs-Zients-Cuts-Through-the-Red-Tape . live .
  25. News: Obama Picks Zients as Director of Economic Council. Bloomberg News. Runningen. Roger. September 13, 2013. live. September 14, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130917034709/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-13/zients-said-set-to-replace-sperling-at-white-house-economic-unit.html. September 17, 2013.
  26. Web site: Jeffrey Zients to Become Acting Director of OMB. 2021-09-26. ABC News. en.
  27. Web site: 2011-01-11. Jeffrey Zients. 2021-09-26. whitehouse.gov. en.
  28. News: Health Website Tests a Tycoon and Tinkerer. Stolberg. Sheryl Gay. Sheryl Gay Stolberg. The New York Times. November 10, 2013. September 3, 2017. September 5, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170905060302/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/11/us/health-website-tests-a-tycoon-and-tinkerer.html. live.
  29. Brill. Steven. March 10, 2014. Obama's Trauma Team: How an unlikely group of high-tech wizards revived Obama's troubled HealthCare.gov website. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171017083850/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2166770-1,00.html. October 17, 2017. September 3, 2017. Time.
  30. News: Rushe. Dominic. April 16, 2015. Obama appoints Jeffrey Zients to fix healthcare website. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170904194819/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/25/obama-appoints-jeffrey-zients-healthcare. September 4, 2017. September 3, 2017. The Guardian.
  31. News: Eilperin. Juliette. December 22, 2013. Jeff Zients helped salvage HealthCare.gov. Now he'll be Obama's go-to guy on economy.. The Washington Post. live. September 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171012084856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jeff-zients-helped-salvage-healthcaregov-now-hell-be-obamas-go-to-guy-on-economy/2013/12/22/3ebf38a4-6986-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html. October 12, 2017.
  32. Web site: Tracking High Priority Infrastructure Projects . O'Keefe . Ed . April 19, 2010 . The Washington Post . September 2, 2017 . March 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213041/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/04/obama_to_take_management_tips.html . live .
  33. Web site: Leonhardt. Megan. 2017-02-03. Inside Wall Street's Secret War on American Investors. 2020-07-13. Money. en. July 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200714033708/https://money.com/wall-street-fights-fiduciary/. live.
  34. News: Rappeport . Alan . Biden Faces a Balancing Act in Choosing Top Aides With Business Ties . 5 December 2020 . The New York Times . 1 December 2020.
  35. News: Nelson. Colleen McCain. William. Mauldin. 2015-10-07. White House Compares Trans-Pacific Partnership's Tariff Cuts to Tax Breaks. en-US. The Wall Street Journal. 2020-08-24. 0099-9660. October 1, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161001111334/http://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-compares-trans-pacific-partnerships-tariff-cuts-to-tax-breaks-1444258931. live.
  36. News: Wikipedia page for Biden' new Covid czar scrubbed of politically damaging material. Politico. Thompson. Alex. Meyer. Theodoric. December 3, 2020. December 4, 2020. December 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201204050454/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/03/wikipedia-page-bidens-new-covid-czar-scrubbed-442735. live.
  37. News: Fischer. Sara. Facebook changes audit committee charter after privacy issues. 2020-05-28. Axios. en. October 1, 2020. June 14, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20201001202923/https://www.axios.com/facebooks-board-expands-role-of-a-1529004696-6d97c141-2709-4eb5-8fe4-b893b782f7cc.html. live.
  38. News: Brandom. Russell. 2020-12-04. Biden coronavirus appointee has cut ties with Facebook, transition team says. 2020-12-06. The Verge. en.
  39. News: Horwitz. Jeff. Seetharaman. Deepa. 2020-03-26. Facebook Nears Complete Board Overhaul With Latest Exit. en-US. The Wall Street Journal. 2020-07-13. 0099-9660. July 13, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200713011505/https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-names-former-deputy-secretary-of-the-treasury-to-its-board-11585256495. live.
  40. Web site: Schwartz. Brian. 2021-03-20. Biden's closest advisors have ties to big business and Wall Street with some making millions. 2021-03-27. CNBC. en.
  41. News: Carman . Tim . D.C. restaurants are hoping for a 'Biden bump' after the president's Georgetown deli visit . 21 November 2023 . Washington Post . January 26, 2021.
  42. News: Tankersley . Jim . Smialek . Jeanna . October 30, 2020 . In Building Economic Team, Biden Faces Tug From Left and Center . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331 . December 5, 2020.
  43. Web site: December 7, 2020 . President-elect Joe Biden Announces Key Members of Health Team . . en-US . December 7, 2020.
  44. News: Stacey . Kiran . January 20, 2021 . Jeff Zients: the "Mr. Fix-it" in charge of tackling the Covid-19 crisis . The Financial Times . en-GB . January 21, 2021.
  45. Web site: Kumar . Anita . Meyer . Theodoric . July 17, 2021 . Frustrated industry groups see Biden's Covid czar as obstacle to reopening travel . Politico . en-US . February 10, 2022.
  46. News: Shear . Michael D. . Stolberg . Sheryl Gay . March 17, 2022 . Biden's Covid Czar Will Be Replaced by Ashish Jha . The New York Times . en-US . March 24, 2022.
  47. Web site: 'COVID agenda is Jewish': Antisemitic flyer found at Melbourne synagogue . July 16, 2022 . . 2023-04-27.

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