President Barack Obama first hired current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff when he took office in 2009. When Emanuel's mayoral ambitions took hold, William Daley was next. ABC News reports Daley has resigned and Jacob Lew will replace him as Obama's chief of staff. It's his third such job opening since January 2009's inauguration.
Here's a look at the three Obama chiefs of staff.
Rahm Emanuel
Emanuel resigned in late September 2010 after a year and eight months on the job. Pete Rouse took over on an interim basis until Daley was hired. The Washington Post reported Emanuel is a longtime friend and adviser to Obama going back to both men's days in Illinois politics. Emanuel was elected in February.
William Daley
Daley is also from a popular Chicago family. His brother recently retired from the mayor's position that Emanuel earned. He also served in the Clinton administration as Secretary of Commerce in the early 1990s. Daley's resignation comes at a tough time for the White House. A recent book published about first lady Michelle Obama alleges a testy relationship between the president's advisers and his wife.
Jacob Lew
Lew, known as "Jack" to those around him, comes into the job after serving as the director of the Office of Management and Budget at the White House, a position he held from 1998 to 2001 and then from November 2010 to the present.
Lew has worked in the State Department. In the private sector, he was the chief operating officer of New York University and held the same position at Citi Global Wealth Management. Lew's career in Washington goes back to 1973 when he was a legislative aide.
Functions of the Position
Obama has had three chiefs of staff in three years in office. The chief of staff oversees all of the president's advisers such as OMB director and all other White House functions that revolve around government. The chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President, created in 1939 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The chief of staff helps organize and maintain executive White House departments such as the National Security Council, the Communications Office and the Press Secretary.
The chief of staff is also regarded as one of the president's closest advisers. The job is demanding as the position oversees a staff of 1,800 people. The job revolves mostly around the day-to-day operations of the office of the president.
William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics. Born in St. Louis, Browning is active in local politics and served as a campaign volunteer for President Barack Obama and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.
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