Obama names Denis McDonough as new White House chief of staff

In appointing former deputy national security adviser, president keeps trusted aides close as he plans ambitious second term

Barack Obama has chosen stability and trustworthiness over an injection of new ideas in the composition of his White House team, drawing on a member of his loyal inner circle, Denis McDonough, to become his new chief of staff.

The appointment of one of Obama's closest advisers to step up to be his fifth chief of staff – which the president described as one of the worst-kept secrets in Washington – underlines the emphasis he is placing on consistency as he enters his second term. McDonough has been a trusted adviser to Obama for almost a decade since 2004 when he helped him set up his first Washington office as junior senator for Illinois, and has served for the last four years as the president's deputy national security adviser.

Announcing the appointment on Friday, Obama said that he relied on McDonough's "intellect and good judgment. He's the consummate public servant, he plays it straight – and that's the kind of team work I want in the White House."

The president has set himself an ambitious set of goals for the second term, from gun control to immigration reform and action on climate change. To stand any chance of pushing that substantial programme through Congress, he will need to act quickly and decisively to harness the momentum of his victory in November's presidential election against Mitt Romney.

"This is not a time for new ideas or for a shake-up of the White House. It is a time to get things done and to execute what we already know is on the table," said rofessor David Lewis, a political scientist at Vanderbilt university and author of the Politics of Presidential Appointments.

McDonough, one of 11 children from a devout Catholic family from Minnesota, follows in the footsteps of Rahm Emanuel, the current mayor of Chicago; Bill Daley; and Jack Lew who has vacated the role of chief of staff to be the president's nominee for next treasury secretary. Unlike his predecessors, McDonough lacks experience of working in the previous Democratic administration of Bill Clinton.

At 43 he comes from another generation, and his experience has been gained on the job as a leading adviser to Obama on foreign policy. The central role that he has played in that regard is illustrated by the famous photograph of Obama and his national security team in the White House situation room during the Navy Seals mission to kill Osama bin Laden in which McDonough is shown sitting between Hillary Clinton and air force brigadier general Brad Webb.

Obama said that McDonough had been seminal in every important national security decision of the past four years, from ending the war in Iraq and drawing down the troops from Afghanistan, to dealing with natural disasters in Haiti and Japan, and repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell.