Responding to urgent calls from Congress and a fearful public, President Obama has tapped a former White House official to serve as his “Ebola czar.”
Ron Klain is a “Democratic Party insider” who worked for vice presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore and is married with three children, according to CNN.
He will serve as the point-person in charge of responding to the deadly virus in the U.S.
A Liberian national who brought the virus to America’s shores has died from Ebola, and two nurses who treated him tested positive in the last several days.
Mr Obama said late Thursday it “may make sense for us to have one person” coordinating the government’s response to the Ebola outbreak.
He said administration officials such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco have other responsibilities and may benefit from having one person in charge of the government’s entire response.
“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,” the president said.
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