Top Warner aide to be Raimondo’s chief of staff at Commerce

Mike Harney, a top Senate aide and Obama administration veteran, has been chosen to be chief of staff to Commerce Secretary-designate Gina Raimondo, according to people familiar with the matter.

Harney most recently was the chief of staff to Virginia Senator Mark Warner, a close congressional ally of President Joe Biden.

In the second term of the Obama administration Harney served as assistant U.S. trade representative for congressional affairs, where his job included engagement with members of Congress on trade negotiations—including the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership. The trade deal was never submitted for congressional approval and then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement on his third day in office.

Harney and White House press officials did not respond to a request for comment.

A confirmation hearing for Raimondo, the governor of Rhode Island, is set for Jan. 26 before the Senate Commerce Committee.