White House chief of staff stepping down

From Jessica Yellin, CNN Chief White House Correspondent

January 9, 2012

President Obama and his chief of staff, Bill Daley on December 14.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Obama announces Bill Daley is resigning
• Daley became chief of staff a year ago
• Daley will be replaced by White House Budget Director Jack Lew
• Daley will stay in the job through January, an Obama aide tells CNN

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama announced Monday that White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley is stepping down and will be replaced by Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew.
Two senior Obama aides told CNN on Monday that Daley will stay in his job through January, including the State of the Union address.
In a previously unscheduled statement to reporters at the White House, Obama said Daley came to him last week and talked about stepping down to spend more time with his family.
Obama asked Daley to reconsider, but Daley decided to resign and recommended Lew as his successor, the president said.
"There is no question that I'm going to deeply miss him by my side here at the White House," Obama said of Daley, who became chief of staff a year ago when Rahm Emanuel resigned to run for mayor of Chicago.
The chief of staff is in charge of White House staff and operations, and is a senior adviser to the president.
According to a senior Obama aide, Daley told Obama last week that it was best for president and the White House if Daley stepped aside.
Daley, a member of an influential political family, has been a fixture in Washington politics and in the business community for years.
The 63-year-old former commerce secretary in the Clinton administration was chosen last year to bring a moderating influence to the White House in an attempt to seek a middle path with Republicans on contentious budget issues.
Daley, a Chicago native, was widely regarded as the force behind getting the NAFTA agreement passed through the Republican-controlled Congress during the Clinton years.
With Obama now involved in election-year politics, the president has taken steps to appeal to his Democratic base, such as his recess appointment of Richard Cordray as head of a new consumer protection agency.