Chris Liddell, the former chief financial officer at Microsoft and General Motors, has been tapped to serve as deputy chief of staff for policy coordination, the White House announced on Monday.
Liddell, who currently serves as a top aide in the Jared Kushner-led Office of American Innovation, was in the running to succeed Gary Cohn as National Economic Council director but was passed up for the post. His promotion will elevate a key Kushner ally to a top position at chief of staff John Kelly’s side at a time of lingering tensions between Kelly and the President’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
“He has extensive experience managing large organizations and has already overseen a number of interagency processes in the White House. In his new role Chris will manage the policy process as we continue to enact the President’s agenda,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.
Politico first reported Liddell’s promotion.
Kelly called Liddell “widely respected across the administration” and said he is “highly qualified to oversee and coordinate our policy process.”
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Liddell will work alongside Joe Hagin, who is the deputy chief of staff for operations.
The previous deputy chief of staff, Rick Dearborn, left the White House on Friday after resigning several months earlier. Kelly’s previous top deputy chief of staff, Kirstjen Nielsen, left the White House after she was nominated to become secretary of Homeland Security.
Jim Carroll, who previously worked in the White House counsel’s office, served as a deputy chief of staff in the wake of Nielsen’s departure, but was never formally appointed to the position despite initial plans to do so. He now serves as acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.