Area Native Denis McDonough Named Obama's Chief of Staff

President Barack Obama has chosen Stillwater native Denis McDonough as his fifth chief of staff.

Fourth District Congresswoman Betty McCollum congratulated McDonough on his new position. 

“As Deputy National Security Advisor, Mr. McDonough contributed greatly to advancing our nation’s security interests," McCollum said. "He also played a leading role in planning the raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.  He is clearly among the President’s most tested and trusted aides.  Minnesotans share great pride in his elevation to the role of White House Chief of Staff.”

UPDATED FROM: 

The Associated Press is reporting that President Barack Obama has chosen Stillwater native Denis McDonough as his fifth chief of staff.

“A White House official said Obama will announce McDonough’s appointment Friday in the East Room,” the AP reports. “McDonough, 43, will take over the key West Wing role from Jack Lew, Obama’s nominee for Treasury secretary.”

The White House official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity in order to speak before the president’s announcement, said: "McDonough has played a key role in all of Obama’s major national security decisions in recent years, including the end of the war in Iraq, winding down the war in Afghanistan, responses to natural disasters in Haiti and Japan and repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members."

Report: Stillwater Native Denis McDonough is Front Runner for Obama's Chief of Staff

McDonough has been a member of Obama’s “tight inner circle” since the 2008 campaign, the National Journal reports, and has a much closer personal relationship with the president than Ron Klain, another front-runner for the job.

“Denis has the advantage of being close to the president,” David Rothkopf, a former Clinton administration official and expert on the National Security Council, told the National Journal. “In this White House, having the trust of the president is absolutely sine qua non if you want to actually be a player. And this president is very parsimonious with his trust.”

McDonough is currently serving as the deputy national security advisor in the Obama administration.

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