U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to appoint Ron Klain, best known for serving as chief of staff to both Vice President Joe Biden and former vice president Al Gore, as the single person leading the government's effort to fight Ebola, U.S. media reported Friday.
Klain will report directly to Obama's Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco and National Security Advisor Susan Rice, the Washington Post quoted an unidentified White House official as saying.
"Klain's role is consistent with the view the President articulated in the Oval Office last night that Monaco, Rice and others have done outstanding work in confronting this challenge so far," the official said.
"But given their management of other national and homeland security priorities, additional bandwidth will further enhance the government's Ebola response."
Klain left the White House in 2011. He is now the president of Case Holdings and serves as the general counsel for Revolution LLC, an investment organization.
Obama said Thursday evening that "it may be appropriate" to appoint an additional person as his Ebola "czar" after meeting Monaco, Rice, his health secretary Sylvia Burwell, and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tom Frieden.
The U.S. government's Ebola response has drawn criticism after three people were diagnosed with the deadly disease on American soil.