Ill. congressman accepts job as White House chief of staff

President-elect Barack Obama’s fellow Chicagoan Rahm Emanuel, the hard-charging No. 4 Democrat in the House, has accepted the job of White House chief of staff, Democratic officials said Thursday.

One of Obama’s first decisions as president-elect was to ask the Illinois congressman to run his White House staff. The selection of the fiery Democrat marked a shift in tone for Obama, who chose more low-key leadership for his presidential campaign.

Emanuel, who served as a political and policy aide in the Clinton White House before running for Congress, weighed the family and political considerations before accepting. He will have to resign his seat, relinquish his position in the House Democratic leadership and put aside hopes of becoming House speaker.

Democratic officials who disclosed Emanuel’s acceptance did so on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering Obama’s team. It had not planned to announce the chief of staff position on Thursday.