mr. denis mcdonough. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, everybody. please, everybody have a seat. good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the announcement of one of the worst kept secrets in washington. [laughter]as president i rely on an extraordinary team of men and women here at the white house every single day, and i rely on my chief of staff to keep up with them and our entire permit, making sure we are all moving in the right direction, they can share my high 40s are being -- making sure that my priorities are being carried carried out, and that our policies are consistent with the commitments that have made to the american people and that are delivering progress to the american people. as i said earlier this month, i could not be more grateful to jack lew for his amazing service, first as our omb director, than at the state department, and ultimately as my chief of staff. as he prepares for confirmation hearings, and the challenge of leading our treasury department, i am pleased to announce my next chief of staff, and a great friend to me, and everybody who works here at

mr. denis mcdonough. [ cheers and applause ] >> now it's official. denis mcdonough replacing jack lou who is being nominated as the next treasury secretary to replace tim geithner. that news out of our nation's capital. the war of words between two hedge fund heavy weights is heating up with carl icahn bashing hbash ing herbalife. thanks for coming on, bill. >> thanks for having me. >> this feud goes back ten years which you ultimately won in court. let's not focus on the past. let's try to move the argument forward here. the fundamental one that you were too aggressive, too public in the way you attacked herbalife in announcing your short position to the world. what would you say to that? >> do you know what's fascinating is in 2002 and 2003 carl icahn spoke at the conference held december 20. carl was the speaker in 2002 and 2003 and talked about the same short idea both years. trinity industries. he was short according to a fortune story i pulled up, 22% of the outstanding shares. i was there personally and remember him talking about the short. i f

mr. denis. mcdonough. i have been counting on denis for nearly a decade.ince i first came to washington when he helped set up my senate office along with pete, he was able to show me where the restrooms were and how you passed a bill. i should point out that even then dennis had gray hair. i have been trying to catch up to him. but at that time i relied on his intellect and his good judgment and that has continued ever since. he's been one of my closest and most trusted advisers on my presidential campaign, on my transition team. he has been an indepesensible member of my team. from the war in iraq to winding down the war in afghanistan from our response to natural disasters around the world like haiti and the tsunami in japan to the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, to countless crises in between day and night. and that includes many nights. i've actually begun to think that denis likes pulling all-nighters. the truth is nobody outworks denis mcdonough. you have seen such warmth of applause because denis is a humble guy. to many friends and admirers he's t

mr. denis mcdonough. i have been counting on him for nearly a decade. since i first came to washington, when he helped set up my senate office along with pete rose, he was able to show me where the restrooms were, how you passed a bill. even then, denis had gray hair. i have been trying to catch up to him. at that time, i relied on his intellect and his good judgment, and that has continued ever since. he has been one of my closest and most trusted advisers on my presidential campaign, on my transition team. he has been an indefensible -- and dispensable member of my security team as well. he has played a key role in every national security decision in my presidency. our response to natural disasters around the world to the repeal of don't ask them tell -- dont t'tel tell. i have begun to think that denis likes pulling all minor nighters. the out works denis mcdonough. art of the reason you saw such words of applause -- warmth of applause is because he is such a humble guy. he is still just the dude from stillwater, minnesota. given his humility, i do n

denis mcdonough will become the chief of staff. they were accompanied by jack lew. this is about 15 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, accompanied by mr. jacob lew, and mr. denis mcdonough. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, everybody. please, everybody have a seat. good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the announcement of one of the worst kept secrets in washington. [laughter]as president i rely on an extraordinary team of men and women here at the white house every single day, and i rely on my chief of staff to keep up with them and our entire permit, making sure we are all moving in the right direction, they can share my high 40s are being carried carried out, and that our policies are consistent with the commitments that have made to the american people and that are delivering progress to the american people. as i said earlier this month, i could not be more grateful to jack lew for his amazing service, first as our omb director, than at the state department, and ultimately as my chief of staff. as he prepares for confirmation hearings, and the challenge of leading our treasury department, i am pleased to announce my next chi

had announced one of his closest aides will be his next chief of staff denis mcdonough succeeds jack lew. mr. obama says nobody outworks mcdonough. >> he's been one of my closest, most trusted advisers. he has been an indispensable member of my national security team, as well. denis has played a key role in every major national security decision of my presidency. >> he will be mr. obama's fifth chief of staff as the white house tackles the budget and immigration. >>> vice president biden says the country cannot remain silent after last month's school shooting. the vice president said the 2007 virginia tech massacre shows how important background checks are to keep guns out of the wrong hands. >>> president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton are parting ways. clinton is leaving her job at the state department next week. they sat down together for an interview with "60 minutes." and we'll have some of that for you in 30 minutes. >>> for much of the country this morning, it is cold. the national weather service is warning of bitterly cold conditions. this weekend across much of the no

mr. obama says denis mcdonough is a man of integrity, who will speak his mind. now, mcdonough will replace jack lew, the obama nominee for treasury secretary. hours ago, the president heaped praise on mcdonough over and over, even told a few jokes during this announcement. >> now, don't get me wrong, denis can be tough. it probably comes from being one of 11 children. you've got to be tough. two of his sisters are here today, by the way, mary and anna and i know they -- they're beaming. they could not be more proud of their brother. maybe it comes from his college football days as defensive back under the legendary john gallardi. i always teased denis that, you know, he made up for modest talents with extraordinary dedication and a high threshold for pain. >> they seem loose and comfortable, jokes and smiles there. candy crowley joins us from washington. candy, it is very clear the president chose someone with whom he has a close relationship. question is, the other people who work in the west wing and in the white house, how are they reacting to the mcdonough c

>> holman: president obama chose his long-time foreign policy advisor denis mcdonough to be the new white house chief of staff. mr. obama made the announcement this afternoon. he lauded mcdonough, and told him, "i know you'll always give it to me straight, as only a friend can." mcdonough will take over from jack lew, who's been nominated to replace timothy geithner as the next treasury secretary. today was geithner's last day, after four years on the job. in a final interview, he said he's hopeful the economy will strengthen this year. the defense department has begun eliminating the jobs of all 46,000 temporary civilian employees at the pentagon. the announcement today said it's a response to mandatory, across- the-board spending cuts. they're scheduled to take effect march 1, unless congress comes up with alternative cuts. without changes, hundreds of thousands of full-time civilian employees will face furloughs and reduced paychecks by april. the government of syria called today for thousands of refugees to come home, including those opposed to the regime. nearly 600,000 syrians have fled the civil war and go

>> holman: president obama chose his long-time foreign policy advisor denis mcdonough to be the new white house chief of staff. mr. obama made the announcement this afternoon. he lauded mcdonough, and told him, "i know you'll always give it to me straight, as only a friend can." mcdonough will take over from jack lew, who's been nominated to replace timothy geithner as the next treasury secretary. today was geithner's last day after four years on the job. in a final interview, he said he's hopeful the economy will strengthen this year. the defense department has begun eliminating the jobs of all 46,000 temporary civilian employees at the pentagon. the announcement today said it's a response to mandatory, across- the-board spending cuts. they're scheduled to take effect march 1, unless congress comes up with alternative cuts. without changes, hundreds of thousands of full-time civilian employees will face furloughs and reduced paychecks by april. the government of syria called today for thousands of refugees to come home, including those opposed to the regime. nearly 600,000 syrians have fled the civil war and gon