(CNN) - Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a former Clinton administration aide, has accepted the position of President-elect Obama's chief of staff, a Democratic aide tells CNN.
Watch: Jessica Yellin reports on Emanuel
House Minority Leader John Boehner criticized the choice of Emanuel - the man known for his tough-minded approach and widely credited with engineering large congressional gains for Democrats in the 2006 elections.
“This is an ironic choice for a President-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center," Boehner said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Jim Manley, a senior communications advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, praised the choice.
"An excellent choice. Rahm knows the Hill," he told CNN. "And he knows the White House. He is a brilliant strategic thinker and someone who knows how to get things done."
From CNN Politics
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Well, I haven't congratulated ALL the Obama supporters yet so let me say I am proud to have cast my vote for him. I support anyone he chooses as I know they will all be good in their positions.
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THAT,,,,,,,,,THEY,,,,,,,,,,,,,USED,,,,,,,,,,TO,,,,,,,,,,,,COMPLAIN,,,,,,,,,,,,ABOUT,,,,,,
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great choice!
we are on the right track
I'm happy with the chief of staff choice as well as the press secretary choice!!
Tactiful, smart and knowledgable, all the things the current administration doesn't have.
John Boehner recently referred to Senator Obama as "chickensh**" So that tells you what he considers to be civilized.
What does Boehner, the House GOP leader, know about being moderate when the party he leads lost 18 seats on Tuesday?
He needs to check HIMSELF!
John Boner's off to a good choice. If HE were about "country first", he'd shut the hell up and do whatever he could to make this all successful.
The Repugs are not going to like anyone Obama picks because they can't control them. Tough @#$%
Could be good, a real tough guy. Of course, as a WSJ piece today points out, Rahm used to drive around with a monogrammed car. Hillary lobbied to get him fired before getting him demoted. Maybe he'll have been a bit humbled since then ...
I trust the choice of my President.... now this does not mean my trust is blind we all know where that gets us..... I think it appears to be a great pick though. We are all behind you President Obama ... thank you for staying steadfast.... we are in a big mess and I support your leadership in getting us out of it!
Are we sure?
Barrack and Rahm, my two childhood friends from the neighborhood.
First Biden, then Emanuel. Next is Gibbs as press secretary, finally - we're going to have a white house full of good people with the interested of regular Americans at heart!
I trust the choice of my President.... now this does not mean my trust is blind we all know where that gets us..... I think it appears to be a great pick though. We are all behind you President Obama ... thank you for staying steadfast.... we are in a big mess and I support your leadership in getting us out of it!
We trust and love you Obama great choice!
This just continues to demonstrate that Barack Obama has the intellect, rational mindset and determination to make his new administration be one of change and forward thinking. Alot has been made of his "lack" of experience but in order to be president one needs to have a sharp and agile mind, strong will and thick skin and the ability to bridge gaps in an equaitable manner.
These are again exciting times in America and its great to be apart of it!
Great choice. Obama is focus to fix this economy.
Mike
Washington
And exactly what business is it of Boehner's who Obama picks as HIS chief of staff?
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NATIONS, LEADERS?
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ARE THEY IN YOUR MIND? IN YOUR MIND A NAME OF A BOOK.
HARVARD OBAMA MIND EXPERIMENTS.
Change he can believe in. Wait, not really a change so much.
Excellent Choice!!
To JL:
So long as he is picking people with a brain, people that have an outstanding resume, i don't care who they've served!
We need change and change will come by picking intelligent people!
So far:
Obama
Biden
Emanuel
are all excellent choices!!
God Bless them all!
So he hired a Clinton crony from the 90's? Add Biden to the mix and that is some real change. Obama needs more new blood, not the same old same old.
You show the naysayers, Barack! You can better our economy – I'm sure of it!
And if BillO and LimBaugh are on heavy, and the Bush crew is lurking to make more money and say you can't do this without them – We, who have backed you and continue to do so, will tell them, "Yes, we can."
Who cares if Obama's cabinet is not diversed!Blac people need to chill out! I of course would love to see Colin Powell in his cabinet, but he doesn't want it!
I think in the following weeks we will see President elect Obama selecting competent people for his staff and cabinet positions, people with knowledge of the office they will be serving who will serve the best interest of the American people. It is refreshing and has not been the case for eight years now. I just hope they can do some good in the short amount of time they have and that they are not thwarted by the extreme right, who will want to sabotage the work they do in behalf of all of us. I am so relieved that Obama won and hopeful we can get this country back on track again. Bush took this nation way down in the last eight years and it is going to take a superhuman team to bring it back.
Partisanship really isn't all that relevant to the post of Chief of Staff. The fact that he is hard-nosed implies that Obama wants his White House to be a tight ship.
I think he was named FIRST to send a message to all those Republican pundits who refused to recognize Obama's clear mandate, often declaring that the country is still "center-right". So the timing may have been a political message, but it is his rigid determination, not his rigid partidanship that makes Emanuel well suited for the job of Chief of Staff.
Great choice President Elect Obama