Ron Klain has checked all the boxes of a classic Washington striver: Georgetown, Harvard Law, Supreme Court clerk and Capitol Hill staffer, White House adviser and, along the way, of course, lobbyist and lawyer.
Now he is preparing to serve as President-elect Joe Biden’s chief of staff, a job often referred to as the nation’s chief operating officer.
His gilded resume, deep knowledge of the gears and levers of power in the capital and decadeslong association with Biden have also done something unusual in today’s Washington: drawn praise from both sides of the ideological divide.
The 59-year-old father of three has a reputation among Democrats and, strikingly, even some Republicans for competence - a notable attribute after an administration that rewarded and dismissed people based on their loyalty to President Donald Trump.