The president unveils his new staff for his second term at the White House. (Creative Commons)

Currently the deputy national security adviser, Denis R. McDonough will be promoted to chief of staff to replace Treasury secretary nominee Jack Lew, according to the Daily Beast.

Tony Blinken, foreign policy adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, will replace McDonough at the National Security Council. 

Several other high-level White House staffers will be moved to new positions as well, including the promotion of current White House director of legislative affairs Rob Nabors to deputy chief of staff for policy.

McDonough is a longtime aide and close associate of Obama's. "Denis has played a key role in all of the major national security decisions — from ending the war in Iraq to winding down the war in Afghanistan, from our response to natural disasters in Haiti and Japan, to the repeal of ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'" an unnamed White House official told Reuters.

The decision to install a national security expert as White House chief of staff comes at a time of heated national debate on gun control and immigration law.

For a profile of Denis McDonough, go here, and here for an analysis of the White House staff reshuffle.

Check out more of Neon Tommy's White House coverage here.

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