Ebola Czar Quietly Retires from Role as West Africa Military Mission Wraps Up

Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — He rarely appeared in public, and never once spoke from a major platform, but now Ebola Czar Ron Klain is quietly leaving from his role he held for less than four months.

The announcement came a day after President Obama announced the end of the military mission to fight Ebola in West Africa — and effectively declared “mission accomplished” in curbing global spread of the latest outbreak. All but 100 of the 2,800 U.S. service members deployed to West Africa will be home by April 30, the president said Wednesday.

“While our troops are coming home, America’s work is not done. Our mission is not complete,” Obama said. “For as long as Ebola simmers anywhere in the world, we will have some Ebola fighting heroes who are coming back home with the disease from time to time.”

Meanwhile, Obama bid farewell to the man who oversaw the effort, even if he came to it late, appointed amidst a firestorm of criticism.

“When I asked Ron Klain last fall to become the Administration’s Ebola Response Coordinator, the apprehension and even fear of Ebola in the United States was at its peak. Likewise, there was more than a little skepticism from some corners at the selection of Ron to fulfill this function. But, the background noise notwithstanding, I chose Ron for a reason: I have known him to be nothing less than an effective, dedicated, and tireless manager and leader. And those traits have been on full display since October,” President Obama said in a statement.

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