English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama Names Denis McDonough as Chief of Staff.webm

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The President:
Good afternoon, everybody, and
welcome to the announcement of

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one of the worst kept
secrets in Washington.

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(Laughter)

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As President, I rely on an
extraordinary team of men and

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women here at the White
House every single day.

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And I rely on my Chief of Staff
to keep up with them -- and our

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entire government -- making sure
that we're all moving in the

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same direction, making sure that
my priorities are being carried

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out and that our policies are
consistent with the commitments

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that I've made to the American
people, and that we're

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delivering progress to
the American people.

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As I said earlier this month,
I could not be more grateful

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to Jack Lew for his amazing
service, first as our OMB

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Director, then at the State
Department, and ultimately

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as my Chief of Staff.

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As he prepares for his
confirmation hearings and

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the challenge of leading
our Treasury Department,

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I am pleased to announce my next
Chief of Staff, and a great

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friend to me and everybody who
works here at the White House --

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Mr. Denis McDonough.

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(Applause)

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I have been counting on Denis
for nearly a decade -- since I

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first came to Washington,
when he helped set up my

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Senate office.

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Along with Pete Rouse, he
was able to show me where

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the restrooms were and --

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(Laughter)

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-- how you passed a bill.

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I should point out that even
then Denis had gray hair.

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(Laughter)

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I've been trying
to catch up to him.

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But at that time, I relied
on his intellect and his good

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judgment, and that has
continued ever since.

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He's been one of my closest and
most trusted advisors -- on my

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presidential campaign,
on my transition team.

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He has been an indispensable
member of my national security

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team as well.

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Denis has played a key role in
every major national security

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decision of my presidency --
from ending the war in Iraq

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to winding down the war in
Afghanistan; from our response

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to natural disasters around the
world like Haiti and the tsunami

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in Japan to the repeal of "don't
ask, don't tell," to countless

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crises in between, day and
night -- and that includes

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many nights.

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I've actually begun to
think that Denis likes

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pulling all-nighters.

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(Laughter)

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The truth is nobody
out-works Denis McDonough.

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And part of the reason you saw
such warmth of applause is that,

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in addition to being an
incredible talent and such

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a hard worker, Denis is
also a pretty humble guy.

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To so many of his friends
and admirers, he's still

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just the "dude" from
Stillwater, Minnesota.

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(Laughter)

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And given his humility, I don't
think people always appreciate

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the breadth of his experience
and the range of his talents.

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And it's precisely
because of that intellect,

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that experience, his
dedication, his determination,

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that I wanted Denis in this job.

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As a veteran of Capitol Hill,
where he was mentored by the

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likes of Lee Hamilton and Tom
Daschle, Denis understands the

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importance of reaching across
the aisle to deliver results for

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the American people -- whether
it's on jobs and the economy,

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health care or education,
reducing the deficit or

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addressing climate change.

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Denis is respected by leaders
across our government.

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Add it all up, and I think he's
spent most of the past four

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years leading interagency
meetings -- hearing people out,

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listening to them, forging
consensus, and then making

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sure that our policies are
implemented and that everybody

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is held accountable.

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And he always holds himself
accountable first and foremost.

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And it's no easy task, but
through it all, Denis does

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it with class and integrity
and thoughtfulness for other

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people's point of views.

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He is the consummate
public servant.

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He plays it straight.

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And that's the kind of teamwork
that I want in the White House.

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Time and again, I've relied on
Denis to help in our outreach to

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the American people as well,
including immigrant and minority

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communities and
faith communities.

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Denis is a man of deep faith,
and he understands that in the

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end, our policies and our
programs are measured in the

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concrete differences that they
make in the lives of our fellow

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human beings and in the values
that we advance as Americans.

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Denis insists on knowing, for
himself, the real-world impact

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of the decisions that we make.

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So, away from the cameras,
without a lot of fanfare, he's

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visited our troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan repeatedly, hearing

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their concerns, finding out what
they need and then making sure

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to follow up.

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He travels to Walter Reed,
again, without fanfare, to spend

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time with our wounded warriors,
getting to know them and what

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we as a nation can do to take
care of them and their families.

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And then he comes back here
to the White House and he

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gets it done.

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And that's the focus but also
the kind of heart that I want

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in this White House.

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Now, don't get me wrong,
Denis can be tough.

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It probably comes from being
one of 11 children -- you've

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got to be tough.

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(Laughter)

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Two of his sisters are
here today, by the way --

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Mary and Anna.

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And I know they could
-- they're just beaming.

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(Laughter)

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They could not be more
proud of their brother.

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Maybe it comes from his college
football days as a defensive

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back under the legendary
John Gagliardi.

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I always tease Denis that he
made up for modest talents with

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extraordinary dedication and
a high threshold for pain.

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(Laughter)

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This does remind me of perhaps
the one topic on which Denis

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and I will never agree, and
that is Vikings vs. Bears.

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There's another reason we all
love Denis so much, and that's

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his decency; his respect
for those around him.

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Ask any of the staff who are
here today and they'll tell you

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that despite the unbelievable
pressures of service at this

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level, Denis is still the first
to think about a colleague, or

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to write a handwritten note
saying thank you, or to ask

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about your family.

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That's the spirit that I
want in this White House.

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And this, of course, is
reflected in his incredible

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love for his own family.

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Kari, Addie, Liam, Teddy -- I
know that Dad has been at work

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a lot during the week and on
weekends, but -- and I guarantee

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he'd much rather be with you
than with me -- (Laughter)

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-- the next job that he's
going to have is going to

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be demanding, too, but the one
reason he does this is because

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he wants to make sure that
this world is a better place

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for all of you.

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Dad will probably have to
stop riding his bike to work.

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(Laughter)

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As Chief of Staff I don't
think that's allowed.

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(Laughter)

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But he does what he does because
he cares and loves you guys so

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much and he wants to make sure
that the next generation is

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inheriting the kind of
America that we all want.

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So I'm grateful to the entire
McDonough family for putting

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up with us.

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Denis, you're not just one of my
closest friends, but you're also

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one of my closest advisors,
and like everybody here I

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cannot imagine the
White House without you.

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Thank you for signing up for
this very, very difficult job,

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as Jack Lew will testify.

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(Laughter)

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I know you'll always give it to
me straight, as only a friend

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can -- telling me not only
what I want to hear, but more

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importantly what I need to
hear to make the best possible

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decisions on behalf of
the American people.

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So for me, for Michelle, for all
your friends and colleagues who

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are here today, thank you
for taking this assignment.

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Congratulations.

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(Applause)

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I just have one
other thing to add.

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We made a number of personnel
announcements today.

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There is going to be an
incredible team that Denis

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will help lead.

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But I thought I'd take
the occasion to just

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embarrass somebody.

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Some of you may know that today
is David Plouffe's last day in

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the White House.

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(Laughter)

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I had to hide this in the end
of my remarks because I knew he

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wouldn't want me to bring it up.

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So we had some secret squirrel
stuff going on here to --

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(Laughter)

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-- avoid him thinking that we
were going to talk about him.

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But as many of you know, David
has been with me from the very

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start of this enterprise
running for President.

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I can't tell you how lucky I
have been to have him manage

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our campaign back in 2008,
then join the White House

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during these very
challenging last two years.

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He's built a well-deserved
reputation as being a numbers

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genius and a pretty
tough combatant when

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it comes to politics.

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But what people don't always
realize -- because he doesn't

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like to show it -- is the reason
he does this stuff is because he

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cares deeply about people.

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And he cares about justice, and
he cares about making sure that

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everybody gets a shot in life.

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And those values have motivated
him to do incredible things, and

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were it not for him, we would
not have been as effective a

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White House and I
probably wouldn't be here.

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So I thought it was worthwhile
for us just to say -- even if he

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doesn't want us to say it --
thank you to David Plouffe.

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(Applause)