Stephanie Cutter

Stephanie Cutter (born October 22, 1968) is an American political consultant. She served as Deputy Campaign Manager for President Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign,^[1] and has previously worked in campaign and communications roles for other Democrats including Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Michelle Obama. The New York Times described her as "a popular but polarizing face of (Obama's) campaign", and a "soldier who says the things the candidate can’t (or won’t) say."^[2]

Early life and education

Cutter was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, and was raised in nearby Raynham, Massachusetts. She graduated from Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School in 1986.^[3] Her mother, Grace, is a school teacher and she has a brother who served in Afghanistan.^[4] She received degrees from Smith College and Georgetown Law School.^[5]

Career

In the 1990s, Cutter worked as a junior aide to Mario Cuomo and also worked for the Environmental Protection Agency.^[6]

She worked for former President Bill Clinton as Deputy Communications Director at the White House during his administration "to help restore Mr. Clinton’s image in the aftermath of (his) impeachment and Monica Lewinsky",^[2] and as Associate Administrator for Communications at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Beginning in 2001, she served as Communications Director for Senator Ted Kennedy.

In November 2003, she was named communications director for the John Kerry campaign,^[7] at Kennedy's recommendation.^[6] During that campaign, she was criticized for having a surly and difficult personality and was often scapegoated for Kerry's loss.^[6] Kerry considered the criticism of her unfair and praised her work.^[6][8] After the Kerry campaign, Cutter returned to work for Kennedy.

In June 2008 Cutter was appointed Chief of Staff to Michelle Obama for the 2008 Presidential general election campaign.^[9] Stephanie Cutter and Michelle Obama immediately clicked and Cutter is widely credited with building Obama's popularity with the public, particularly her Let's Move! health initiative. She is credited with enlisting Republican Mike Huckabee to the program, to help prevent criticism from conservatives.^[6]

She served as the Chief Spokesperson for the Obama-Biden Transition Project.^[10] She served in the Treasury Department as Timothy Geithner's counselor where "she protected Geithner’s fragile reputation and tried to spin unpopular policies like the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the A.I.G. bailout."^[2] In May 2009, Cutter was appointed to serve as adviser to President Obama in the Supreme Court nominations.^[11] Later that year, GQ Magazine named Cutter one of the 50 most powerful people in Washington.^[12]

In 2010, Cutter was named Assistant to the President for Special Projects, charged with managing communications and outreach strategy for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.^[13] In 2011, Cutter was named Deputy Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama.^[14]

In September 2011, the White House announced Cutter would leave her position as Deputy Senior Advisor to serve as deputy campaign manager for Obama for America. She has appeared in numerous campaign videos and ads for Obama's campaign, as well as a guest in TV appearances.^[6] During the 2012 campaign, Steve Schmidt, a Republican strategist, stated that Cutter is "arguably the strongest player on either side out there now."^[6]

CNN announced on June 26, 2013, that Cutter will join a new version of Crossfire re-launching in the fall of 2013, with panelists Newt Gingrich, S. E. Cupp, and Van Jones.^[15]

Cutter announced to CNN staffers on October 7, 2013 she was pregnant with her first child, her due date would be in early March, 2014, and that she would be returning to "Crossfire" after maternity leave.^[16]

References

Obama Administration personnel Cabinet and cabinet-level Office Name Term Office Name Term Secretary of State John Kerry 2013– Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew 2013– Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter 2015– Attorney General Eric Holder 2009– Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell 2013– Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack 2009– Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker 2013– Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez 2013– Secretary of Health and   Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell 2014– Secretary of Education Secretary of Transportation Arne Duncan Anthony Foxx 2009– 2013– Secretary of Housing and Urban   Development Julian Castro 2014– Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald 2014– Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz 2013– Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson 2013– Vice President Joe Biden 2009– White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough 2013– Director of the Office of Management and   Budget Shaun Donovan 2014– Administrator of the Environmental   Protection Agency Gina McCarthy 2013– Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power 2013– Chair of the Council of Economic   Advisers Jason Furman 2013– Trade Representative Michael Froman 2013– Administrator of the Small Business Administration Maria Contreras-Sweet 2014– Below solid line: Granted Cabinet rank although not automatically part of the Cabinet. See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet Executive Office of the President Office Name Term Office Name Term White House Chief of Staff White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Rahm Emanuel Pete Rouse William M. Daley Jack Lew Denis R. McDonough Mona Sutphen Nancy-Ann DeParle Rob Nabors 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013– 2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan Jim Jones Thomas E. Donilon Susan Rice Thomas E. Donilon Denis McDonough Tony Blinken Avril Haines Douglas Lute† 2009–10 2010–13 2013– 2009–10 2010–13 2013–14 2015– 2009–13 White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Jim Messina Alyssa Mastromonaco Anita Decker Breckenridge 2009–11 2011–14 2014– Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security Ben Rhodes John O. Brennan Lisa Monaco 2009– 2009–13 2013– White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning Mark B. Childress Kristie Canegallo 2012–14 2014– Deputy National Security Advisor and NSC Chief of Staff Denis McDonough Brooke Anderson 2009–10 2011–12 Senior Advisor to the President David Axelrod David Plouffe Daniel Pfeiffer 2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 White House Communications Director Daniel Pfeiffer Jennifer Palmieri Jen Psaki 2009–13 2013–15 2015– Senior Advisor to the President Counselor to the President Pete Rouse Brian Deese Pete Rouse John Podesta 2009–10 2015– 2011–13 2014–15 Deputy White House Communications Director Jen Psaki Jennifer Palmieri Amy Brundage 2009–11 2011–14 2014– Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of Public Engagement Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Director, National Economic Council Valerie Jarrett Christina Tchen Jon Carson Paulette Aniskoff Cecilia Muñoz David Agnew Jerry Abramson Lawrence Summers Gene Sperling Jeffrey Zients 2009– 2009–11 2011–13 2013– 2009–12 2012–14 2014– 2009–10 2011–14 2014– White House Press Secretary Deputy Press Secretary Director of Special Projects Director of Speechwriting White House Counsel Robert Gibbs Jay Carney Josh Earnest Bill Burton Josh Earnest Eric Schultz Stephanie Cutter Jon Favreau Cody Keenan Greg Craig Robert Bauer Kathryn Ruemmler W. Neil Eggleston 2009–11 2011–13 2013– 2009–11 2011–13 2014– 2010–11 2009–13 2013– 2009–10 2010–11 2011–14 2014– Deputy Director, National Economic Council Deputy Director, National Economic Council Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Diana Farrell Brian Deese Jason Furman Paul Volcker 2009–11 2011–13 2009–13 2009–11 Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro Rob Nabors Miguel Rodriguez Katie Beirne Fallon 2009–11 2011–13 2013 2013– Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Christina Romer Austan Goolsbee Jason Furman 2009–10 2010–13 2013– Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Lisa Konwinski Amy Rosenbaum 2009– 2014– Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Katharine Abraham 2011– Executive Clerk George T. Saunders† David Kalbaugh 2009–12 2012– Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Cecilia Rouse 2009– Director, Office of Political Affairs Patrick Gaspard David Simas 2009–11 2013– Director, Office of Management and Budget Peter R. Orszag Jack Lew Jeffrey Zients Sylvia Mathews Burwell Brian Deese Shaun Donovan 2009–10 2010–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014 2014– Chief Technology Officer Chief Information Officer Aneesh Chopra Todd Park Megan Smith Vivek Kundra Steven VanRoekel Tony Scott 2009–12 2012–14 2014– 2009–11 2011–14 2015– Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients 2009–13 Director, Office of Presidential Personnel Nancy Hogan Johnathan McBride 2010–14 2014– Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Liebman Heather Higginbottom Brian Deese 2010 2011–13 2013–15 Director of Scheduling and Advance Director, White House Military Office Alyssa Mastromonaco Danielle White Crutchfield George D. Mulligan, Jr. Emmett Beliveau 2009–11 2011– 2009–13 2013– United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk Michael Froman 2009–13 2013– Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu Broderick Johnson 2009–13 2013– Director, Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes Cecilia Muñoz 2009–12 2012– Deputy Cabinet Secretary Liz Sears Smith Rachana Bhowmik Michael Robertson 2009–11 2011–13 2013– Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council Heather Higginbottom Mark Zuckerman 2009–11 2011– Staff Secretary Lisa Brown Rajesh De Douglas Kramer Joani Walsh 2009–11 2011–12 2012–13 2014– Director, Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois Melissa Rogers 2009–2013 2013– Assistant to the President for Management and Administration Bradley Kiley Katy Kale 2009–13 2013– Director, Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle 2009–11 Director, Oval Office Operations Micaela Fernandez Brian Mosteller 2009–12 2012– Deputy Director, Office of Health Reform Jeanne Lambrew 2009– Personal Aide to the President Reggie Love Marvin Nicholson 2009–11 2011– Director, Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner 2009–11 Personal Secretary to the President Katie Johnson Anita Decker Breckenridge Ferial Govashiri 2009–11 2011–14 2014– Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal Dan Utech 2009–2013 2013– Special Projects Coordinator and Confidential Assistant to the President Eugene Kang 2009–11 Director, Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley Michael Boots 2009–2014 2014– Director, Office of National AIDS Policy Jeffrey Crowley Grant Cofax Douglas Brooks 2009–2011 2012–2014 2014– Chief of Staff to the First Lady   Jackie Norris Susan Sher Christina Tchen 2009 2009–10 2011– Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske Michael Botticelli 2009–14 2014– White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers Julianna Smoot Jeremy Bernard 2009–10 2010–11 2011– Director, Office of Urban Affairs Adolfo Carrión, Jr. Racquel Russell 2009–2010 2010– Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren 2009– *Senate-confirmation pending.   †Remained from previous administration(s). Office of the Vice President Position Appointee Chief of Staff to the Vice President Steve Ricchetti Counsel to the Vice President Cynthia Hogan Counselor to the Vice President Mike Donilon Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison Evan Ryan Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Communications Shailagh Murray Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President Shailagh Murray Deputy National Security Adviser to the Vice President Brian McKeon Residence Manager and Social Secretary for the Vice President and Second Lady Carlos Elizondo National Security Adviser to the Vice President Tony Blinken Position Appointee Chief of Staff to the Second Lady Catherine M. Russell Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President Moises Vela Domestic Policy Adviser to the Vice President Terrell McSweeny Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President Jared Bernstein Press Secretary to the Vice President Elizabeth Alexander Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President Annie Tomasini Director of Legislative Affairs Sudafi Henry Director of Communications for the Second Lady Courtney O’Donnell