White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley stepped down

President Barack Obama has said that White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley is stepping down. Mr. Obama named Budget Director Jack Lew as the new
Chief of Staff in replacement of Mr. Bill Daley.

Mr Daley connected to the White House staff in January 2011 to replace Rahm Emanuel, who moved aside as chief of staff to become mayor of Chicago.

Mr. Daley has also performed duties as a former vice-chairman at JP Morgan Chase. He previously told to media that he would work with Mr. Obama till the elections.

President Obama officially disclosed that Mr. Daley decided to leave his duties at White house in order to get back to his family and to spend more time with them at his hometown Chicago.

"In the end the pull of the hometown we both love... was too great," he said, adding that the former banking executive had been an "outstanding" chief of staff.

Mr. Obama also added that Bill Daley’s resignation was a hard news to hear, and it took him long to accept the decision made by former Chief of Staff.

President Obama appreciated Mr. Daley’s services and said that none of my staff has had to take crucial steps more rapidly than bill and this is one of the reasons which make the resignation difficult to digest.

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".