Biden names a new White House counsel as he seeks reelection and faces congressional probes

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden introduced on Tuesday that the brand new White Home counsel will likely be Ed Siskel, a former Obama administration lawyer who helped craft the response to the congressional investigations into the 2012 Benghazi assault that killed 4 Individuals, together with the U.S. ambassador.

Siskel, who’ll start in September, takes over throughout a crucial time on the White Home, when Biden is vying for reelection and congressional and judicial investigations into his administration and household are swirling. Home Republicans are additionally speaking about opening an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president.

“Ed Siskel’s a few years of expertise in public service and a profession defending the rule of legislation make him the proper option to function my subsequent White Home Counsel,” Biden stated in an announcement.

Biden’s private lawyer stays Bob Bauer, who represents the president in his private capability, most notably in issues associated to the categorised paperwork present in his workplace and his house in Wilmington, Delaware.

The White Home counsel’s job is to advise on authorized and coverage questions associated to the presidency. The workplace is the first White Home contact for the Justice Division, and it handles presidential pardons, works on judicial appointments and critiques laws. The workplace additionally helps examine and handle congressional investigations into the administration and lawsuits in opposition to the president when he’s sued in his official capability.

This 12 months will likely be a thorny one: Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is dealing with strain to question Biden over unproven claims of monetary misconduct, Biden’s son Hunter is beneath federal investigation, and former President Donald Trump has been charged with federal and state crimes as he seeks the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Plus, GOP lawmakers are probing the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Siskel replaces Stuart Delery, who spent practically three years within the job. Delery joined Biden’s transition authorized workforce after Biden defeated the incumbent Trump in November 2020. Delery served as deputy counsel earlier than he was elevated to the highest job final summer season after Biden’s first counsel, Dana Remus, left the White Home.

Below the Obama administration, Siskel oversaw the White Home authorized response to congressional oversight and the rollout of the Reasonably priced Care Act. Siskel, a Chicago native and the nephew of film critic Gene Siskel, served for 2 years as the highest lawyer in Chicago beneath Mayor Rahm Emanuel and is a former assistant U.S. lawyer in Illinois. He additionally clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Courtroom.