White House officials have confirmed that tomorrow will be Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s last day on the job. Emanuel is expected to announce his intent to run for Mayor of Chicago.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs refused to elaborate, but told reporters that President Barack Obama will make a “personnel announcement” tomorrow at 11:05 am in the East Room.
It is no secret that Emanuel has been contemplating running for Mayor of his hometown ever since longtime Mayor Richard Daley announced this summer that he would not seek re-election. Emanuel told CBS News back in April that he would run, but not against Daley, whom he once worked for before eventually being elected to the House of Representatives. Should he decide to run, Emanuel would have until November 22 to file his candidacy for next February’s general election.
It is all but guaranteed that the president will tap one of his senior advisers, Pete Rouse, to serve as Emanuel’s replacement on an interim basis. Rouse previously worked as Obama’s chief of staff when he was a Senator, and before that spent nearly 30 years on Capitol Hill. The Washington Post reported in September 2009 that Rouse was leading the White House effort to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
During the past year, scattered reports have surfaced alleging that Emanuel’s rugged style has alienated others within the White House. Yet, when asked by reporters today whether some would be happy to see Emanuel go, Gibbs disagreed.
“Rahm has an incredible amount of energy every day. “He always has ideas.”