President Joe Biden is preparing to hold his first in-person Cabinet meeting on Thursday to discuss the coronavirus relief package and his recently released infrastructure plan.
At the virtual table will be Nik Blosser, the former chief of staff for Gov. Kate Brown.
Blosser, who was part of the Biden transition team, has landed a job with the administration as the chief of staff in the Office of Cabinet Affairs. Blosser will report to Evan Ryan and to members of the president’s senior staff. Ryan is married to Tony Blinken, the current U.S. secretary of state.
“It’s the most diverse Cabinet in history and part of our role is to support everyone being part of a huge team facing a lot of major challenges,” Blosser said.
The first in-person Cabinet meeting will reportedly take place in the White House’s East Room so there is more room for social distancing. Blosser will, however, remain on the West Coast for the time being, like many Biden officials who continue to work remotely until the pandemic improves.
Blosser served as Brown’s chief of staff starting in 2017 until he left to serve as the lead in the intergovernmental affairs office of the Biden-Kamala Harris transition team.
Blosser was involved in politics early in his career, working in the Oregon Legislature in the late 1990s. But when his wife, current Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, was elected to the state Legislature, he took a break and started his own business. He ran the Celilo Group, a media company, and also co-founded the Oregon Business Association.
Blosser is also a member and co-owner of the well known Oregon vineyard Sokol Blosser.
Blosser said he’s looking forward to bringing an Oregon perspective to the Oval Office.
