Jeff Zients, President Joe Biden's new White House chief of staff, reportedly met with the president's son several times in 2016.

According to emails obtained by the source from Hunter Biden's infamous laptop, Zients met with Hunter Biden and then-Vice President Joe Biden twice in February 2016 at the US Naval Observatory and once in May 2016, according to a report by The Washington Examiner.

The Bidens, Zients, and millionaire David Rubenstein, who created the Carlyle Group, a multibillion-dollar investment firm, allegedly met in February.

Rubenstein is also affiliated with the World Economic Forum, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was elected chairman of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees in 2022.

Topic of conversation unknown

The Bidens and Zients met with current White House senior counselor Steve Ricchetti and David Bradley, a D.C.-based consultant and Atlantic Media chairman, two weeks later.

On May 24, 2016, Zients, Hunter Biden, and Bradley met with numerous experts, including Eric Lander, who had left the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Richard Klausner, the former chairman of the National Cancer Institute.

The specifics of the three meetings remain unknown. Hunter Biden's international business dealings have under intense attention from congressional Republicans.

Zients was the director of the National Economic Council under former President Barack Obama in 2016. He held the role until former President Donald Trump assumed office in January 2017.

He later joined the board of directors of the Biden Cancer Initiative, which was founded in June 2017.

Zients is still growing in influence

Zients has had a variety of leadership and employment positions over the years, most recently serving as Biden's main coronavirus response coordinator from January 2021 until April 2022.

Vaccination rates surpassed 75% during his tenure, but the administration fell short of providing tests and therapies for the omicron spike that followed.

The former viral coordinator will take over for current White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who is expected to leave in the coming weeks.

According to The Washington Examiner, Zients will succeed White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. The news of Zients' appointment comes a day after the New York Times reported that Klain was planning to leave his position. Klain has been Biden's chief of staff since January 2021, but is expected to leave in the coming weeks.

Zients has held a variety of positions in both the Obama and Biden administrations. Zients served as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget under former President Barack Obama before becoming director of the National Economic Council. From January 2021 to April 2022, he was also Biden's counselor.