Senate Democrat Elizabeth Warren called Klain a “super choice” for chief of staff because he “understands the magnitude of the health and economic crisis and he has the experience to lead this next administration through it.”
In the same statement released by the Biden transition team, Klain, 59, said it was “the honor of a lifetime” to be named to the post.
Since his projected win was announced on Saturday, Biden has addressed the nation, set up a coronavirus task force, spoken with world leaders including Trump allies, begun vetting potential cabinet members and delivered policy speeches.
On Wednesday he took congratulatory phone calls from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Meanwhile Trump’s only known activities outside the White House before Wednesday had been to play golf twice over the weekend.
Normally routine secret presidential intelligence briefings have been off the daily schedule. He has made no mention of the dramatic rebound in the Covid-19 pandemic across the country.
Trump’s only significant presidential action has been the abrupt firing of defense secretary Mark Esper on Monday, which he announced on Twitter.
His failure to concede has no legal force in itself, but the General Services Administration, the usually low-key agency that manages the Washington bureaucracy, has refused to sign off on the transition, holding up funding and security briefings.
