Why daley resigns

Daley's job as day-to-day manager of the White House operation had already been changing — if not diminishing —as senior Obama aide Pete Rouse took over more of those duties in November. Yet Daley was not expected to leave the job and return to Chicago, where his family has long held a political dynasty, until after the November presidential election. Obama will now have the third chief of his staff of his presidency in the midst of a re-election year.

Obama chose Daley to be his White House chief of staff in January , but the former banker and veteran political fighter Daley has had a somewhat rocky tenure. In the least, the job has not seemed like the best fit. The president also said Mr Daley's resignation "was not easy news to hear" and that he had not accepted the decision immediately. The announcement came hours after White House spokesman Jay Carney downplayed claims in a new book of tensions between Michelle Obama and key presidential staff as "over-hyped".

President Obama announced the appointment of Mr Lew at the same time, saying that the new chief of staff would ensure he "won't miss a beat". The two men - Mr Daley and Mr Lew - flanked the president as he made the announcement. The White House chief of staff role controls access to the president, handling crises and acting as both enforcer and liaison to a sometimes hostile Congress.

Mr Daley's father, like his brother Richard, was a dominant Chicago figure, serving as the city's mayor for more than two decades. Mr Daley was brought in after the mid-term elections to rebuild relations with the business community, according to White House insiders. But it has been reported that Mr Daley did not integrate well with the president's inner circle of political advisers.

Daley was popular with administration staff but clashed with Democrats in Congress. Though popular with staff, Daley alienated parts of Obama's liberal-leaning base, particularly Democrats in Congress, who bristled at presidential criticism that grouped them together with the Republican opposition.

Lew, who served as budget director under President Bill Clinton and was a deputy to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has strong relationships with lawmakers. He was instrumental in negotiating a deal with Republicans last summer to raise the U.

Obama told reporters at the White House that Daley had approached him about resigning last week. Obama said he first rejected the offer, asking Daley to think it over. Daley decided it was time to return to his native Chicago.

Obama's first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is now mayor there. Daley handed over day-to-day White House management duties in November to another Obama aide, Pete Rouse, setting the stage for his resignation two months later.