WASHINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden has picked veteran operative Ron Klain to be White House chief of staff, BBC reported.

Klain has served as a top aide to Biden since the 1980s in the Senate and later when he was vice-president.

The ultimate Washington insider, Klain was also a senior White House aide to Barack Obama and chief of staff to Vice-President Al Gore.

He was played by actor Kevin Spacey in the movie Recount, about the presidential election of 2000.

The White House chief of staff – who manages the president’s daily schedule and is often described as his gatekeeper – is a political appointee that does not require confirmation by the Senate.

(With inputs from Agencies)