President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the new White House Attorney will be Ed Siskel, a former Obama administration attorney who helped respond to the congressional investigation into the 2012 Benghazi attack, in which four Americans, including the US ambassador, were killed.
Siskel, who will take office in September, takes office at a critical time when Biden is fighting for re-election and investigations by Congress and the judiciary into his administration and family are in full swing. Republicans in the House of Representatives are also discussing opening an impeachment investigation into the Democratic president.
“Ed Siskel’s years of public service experience and his career as a rule of law advocate make him the perfect choice for my next White House attorney,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden’s personal attorney remains Bob Bauer, who is representing the President in his personal capacity, particularly on matters related to the classified documents found at his office and home in Wilmington, Delaware.
The job of the White House Counsel is to advise on legal and policy issues related to the presidency. The office is the Justice Department’s primary contact in the White House and handles presidential pardons, handles judge appointments, and reviews legislation. The office also assists in investigating and managing congressional investigations into the government and lawsuits against the President when the President is sued in his official capacity.
This year will be a tricky one: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-California, is under pressure to indict Biden on unsubstantiated allegations of financial wrongdoing, Biden’s son Hunter is under investigation by the federal government, and former President Donald Trump has been charged with charged with federal and criminal counts with state crimes while seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Additionally, Republican attorneys are investigating the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Siskel replaces Stuart Delery, who has been in office for nearly three years. Delery joined Biden’s transitional rights team after Biden defeated incumbent Trump in November 2020. Delery served as assistant attorney before being promoted to the top position last summer after Biden’s first attorney, Dana Remus, left the White House.
Under the Obama administration, Siskel oversaw the White House’s legal response to Congressional oversight and the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Siskel, a Chicago native and nephew of film critic Gene Siskel, was the chief attorney in Chicago for two years under Mayor Rahm Emanuel is a former Assistant US Attorney in Illinois. He also served as a clerk for Justice John Paul Stevens of the US Supreme Court.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter for more English language news from the EL PAÍS USA Edition