White House Office

The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The White House Office is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, which was temporarily Pete Rouse, replaced on January 6, 2010 with the permanent appointment of William M. Daley, who is also the head of the Executive Office.^[1] The staff of the various offices are based in the West Wing and East Wing of the White House, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and the New Executive Office Building.

History

Established in the Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan 1 of 1939^[2] and Executive Order 8248^[3] to provide assistance to the President in the performance of his many detailed activities incident to his immediate office. The White House Office is organized in accordance with the wishes of each incumbent President and is directed by staff chosen by the President. A staff authorization was initially established in 1978 (92 Stat. 2445). Some presidential boards, committees, and commissions function organizationally as subunits of the White House Office.^[4]

Although still a subunit of the EOP, the White House Office remains the centerpiece of the presidential staff system. In many ways it is closest to the President both in physical proximity, its top aides occupy most of the offices in the West Wing, and in its impact on the day-to-day operations, deliberations, policy agendas, and public communications of a presidency. During the transition to office and continuing throughout an administration, the President enjoys a great deal of discretion in terms of how the White House Office is organized.^[1]

Mission

Presidents are free to determine what sub offices and functions will be represented in the staff structure. Most White Houses have some set of staffs handling national security, domestic, and economic policy, but their organizations can vary significantly. Most recent White Houses have offices that deal with the cabinet, congressional affairs, political affairs, intergovernmental affairs, and liaison with the public and a variety of constituency groups. There are usually large operations devoted to the media: a press office, a communications office, other media liaison, and the speechwriting staff. There are offices handling scheduling and preparations for when the President physically leaves the White House (the Advance Office), and a large White House personnel office that oversees presidential appointments throughout the government.

The issues that confront the United States at any one time can not be dealt with by the President alone, and therefore he (or she) must draw on the expertise of the staff he has surrounding him. Successfully launching a presidential policy initiative, effectively staging a presidential event, planning and conducting a meeting of world leaders, or delivering a major address to the nation, all require the collective contributions of different parts of the White House staff. For this to happen effectively there must be a few tough, strong offices exerting centripetal force and pulling the pieces together. First and foremost is the Office of the Chief of Staff. The role and duties of a Chief of Staff vary from administration to administration and even within an administration as one chief of staff may differ from a predecessor or successor. While Chiefs of Staff may differ in the degree of policy advice they provide a President, they are at base the managers of the White House staff system. At least in theory, they are the coordinators bringing the pieces together; they are the tone-setters and disciplinarians making for good organizational order, and often act as the gatekeeper for the President, overseeing every person, document and communication that goes to the President.^[1]

Current Key Offices and Staff

Senior Advisors to the President

• Counselor to the President: Pete Rouse
• Senior Advisor to the President: David Plouffe
• Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement: Valerie Jarrett^[5]

Office of Cabinet Affairs

• Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary: Chris Lu^[6]
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Cabinet Secretary: Elizabeth Sears Smith^[7]

Office of the Chief of Staff

• Assistant to the President and White House Chief of Staff: William M. Daley
  • Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Policy: Nancy-Ann DeParle
  • Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Operations: Alyssa Mastromonaco

Office of Communications

• Assistant to the President for Communications and White House Communications Director: Dan Pfeiffer^[8][9]
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Communications: Jennifer Psaki
• Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting: Jon Favreau^[10]

Office of the First Lady

• Chief of Staff to the First Lady: Christina M. Tchen
  • Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady: Melissa Winter^[11]
  • Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady: David Medina
    • Director of Policy and Projects for the First Lady: Jocelyn C. Frye^[12]

Office of Legislative Affairs

• Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs: Rob Nabors
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Legislative Affairs Director: Lisa Konwinski^[13]
    • Deputy Director for the U.S. House of Representatives: Dan Turton^[7]
    • Deputy Director for the U.S. Senate: Shawn Maher^[7]

Office of Management and Administration

• Director of the Office of Management and Administration: Bradley Kiley^[14]
  • White House Personnel
  • White House Operations
  • Telephone Office
  • Visitors Office

Oval Office Operations

• Director of Oval Office Operations: Brian Mosteller^[12]
• Personal Secretary to the President: Anita Decker-Breckenridge
• Personal Aide to the President: Reggie Love

Office of Political Affairs

• Director of the Office of Political Affairs: Patrick Gaspard^[15]
  • Deputy Director of Political Affairs: Patrick Dillon^[16]

Office of Presidential Personnel

• Director of Presidential Personnel: Don Gips^[14]
  • Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel: Kenneth F. Williams-Bennett

Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs

• Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement: Valerie Jarrett^[5]
  • Office of Public Engagement
    • Director of Public Engagement: Jon Carson
  • Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
    • Director of Intergovernmental Affairs: Cecilia Munoz^[10]
    • Council on Women and Girls
      • Chair of the Council on Women and Girls: Valerie Jarrett^[17]
  • Office of Urban Affairs Policy
    • Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Urban Affairs: Adolfo Carrion^[18]

Office of the Press Secretary

• Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary: Jay Carney
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Press Secretary: Bill Burton
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Press Secretary: Josh Earnest

Office of Scheduling and Advance

• Director of Scheduling and Advance:
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Advance and Operations: Emmett Beliveau^[16]
    • Special Assistant to the President and Trip Director for the President: Marvin Nicholson^[16]
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Appointments and Scheduling: Danielle Crutchfield^[16]

Office of the Staff Secretary

• Deputy Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary: Rajesh De
  • Presidential Correspondence
  • Executive Clerk
  • Records Management

Office of the White House Counsel

• Assistant to the President and Counsel to the President: Robert Bauer^[6]
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Counsel to the President:Daniel J. Meltzer^[12]
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President: Cassandra Butts^[7]
  • Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President: Mary B. DeRosa^[12]

Office of White House Policy

• Domestic Policy Council
  • Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director of the Domestic Policy Council: Melody Barnes^[19]
    • Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Deputy-Director of the Domestic Policy Council: Mark Zuckerman^[19]
  • Office of National AIDS Policy
    • Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy: Jeffrey Crowley^[20]
  • Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
    • Director of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships: Joshua DuBois^[21]
  • Office of Health Reform
    • Director of Health Reform:
      • Deputy Director of Health Reform: Jeanne Lambrew^[22]
  • Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation
    • Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Social Innovation and Civic Participation: Sonal R. Shah
• National Economic Council
  • Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council: Gene Sperling
    • Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy-Director of the National Economic Council: Diana Farrell^[23]
    • Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy-Director of the National Economic Council: Jason Furman^[23]

White House Fellows

• Director, President's Commission on White House Fellowships: Cindy Moelis^[24]

White House Military Office

• Director of the White House Military Office: George D. Mulligan Jr.

References