Biden makes first appointment two months before inauguration

US president-elect Joe Biden has picked veteran political operative Ron Klain to be White House chief of staff.

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

The ultimate Washington insider, Mr 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.