President Obama and Texas Governor Rick Perry late Friday named three officials who will help coordinate the response to Ebola in Dallas, where three people have been diagnosed with the virus, an administration official said. The White House will send Adrian Saenz, Obama's deputy director of intergovernmental affairs, to Dallas, to serve as a liaison for Ron Klain, whom Obama tapped Friday to head up efforts to address the Ebola threat, the official said.
Perry has selected W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, to coordinate state-level assets in the Dallas response. Kevin Hannes, a veteran federal officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency who works in Texas, has been named as Kidd's federal counterpart.
Klain, the so-called "Ebola czar," will report directly to White House National Security Advisor Susan Rice and the president’s Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco. He is tasked with protecting Americans from the disease and making sure the response is linked with the U.S. effort to stop Ebola in West Africa.
