Outgoing White House chief of staff Ron Klain is warning President Joe Biden's critics to stop "underestimating" what he can accomplish in a divided government.
Klain, who announced he would leave his post following the State of the Union, joined Morning Joe for his final White House interview Wednesday morning.
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The president spent much of his Tuesday night address calling for a bipartisan "unity" agenda, but, asked about how realistic those hopes are, given the deluge of investigations launched into the Biden administration by the Republican House majority, Klain responded simply he has "confidence" in Biden.
"I have a lot of confidence in Jeff Zients and the team here. They'll do a great job," Klain added, before reiterating that "when Biden entered office," the country was still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We hardly were walking into a bed of roses here, and there was a lot of skepticism about whether or not we'd be able to make bipartisan progress. The fact that these seem like good times shows how much we've overcome, how much work we've done to get this place," he continued. "So people have been underestimating Joe Biden and his team for a long time, and look at the results we produced these first two years. I have a lot of confidence in the team's ability with the president to continue to make progress these next two years."
Klain also offered his replacement, former coronavirus task lead Jeff Zients, a bit of parting advice.
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"I am leaving behind the most talented, determined, dedicated people. Listen to the team. They have the president's back. They have the vice president's back," he closed. "If we keep on doing what's gotten us to this point, I think the sky's just the limit for what more we can do to finish the job in these next two years."