In his daily briefing Tuesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest emphasized that Klain, who served as chief of staff to both Vice Presidents Biden and Gore, had the management skills necessary to oversee the government's efforts. "Mr. Klain continues to be the person that the president believes is the expert implementer that’s needed to ensure that our whole-of-government approach to fighting Ebola is effectively applied in this situation to protect the American public," Earnest said.
Obama will convene a meeting with Klain and other advisers working on the issue at 3 p.m. in the Oval Office.
"I don’t know if he’ll make any public appearances in conjunction with his job," Earnest said Tuesday. "As I pointed out on Friday when we talked about him getting the job, is that the profile that he will have is primarily a behind-the-scenes one. He’s got a responsibility for making sure that all of the government agencies that are responsible for responding to this effort are coordinated and integrated in a way that meets the high standards the president has set for his team, and that includes everybody from the [Centers for Disease Control] and [the U.S. Agency for International Development] and [Defense Department], who are trying to stop the outbreak at its source, to [Health and Human Services, Homeland Security] and CDC personnel that are trying to keep Americans safe from Ebola back here at home."