W. Neil Eggleston

Neil Eggleston
36th White House Counsel
Incumbent
Assumed office June 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Kathryn Ruemmler
Personal details
Born	(1953-07-05) July 5, 1953[1] Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Duke University (B.A.) Northwestern University (J.D.)

Warren Neil Eggleston (born July 5, 1953) is an American lawyer who serves as the White House Counsel under President Barack Obama since the departure of previous Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler.

Early life and education

A native of West Lafayette, Indiana, Eggleston graduated in 1971 from West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School.^[2] Eggleston earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1975 and then a Juris Doctor degree in 1978 from Northwestern University School of Law.^[3][4]

From 1978 until 1979, Eggleston served as a law clerk for Judge James Hunter III on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. From 1979 until 1980, he was a law clerk for Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger.^[3][3]

Professional career

From 1981 until 1987, Eggleston was an Assistant U.S. Attorney and the chief appellate attorney for the Southern District of New York. From 1987 until 1988, Eggleston served as deputy chief counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran, which investigated the Iran-Contra Affair.^[4] From 1993 until 1994, he served in the White House as associate counsel to the president.^[4] Eggleston's work in the Clinton administration took place during congressional investigations into Clinton's Whitewater real estate transactions.^[5]

After leaving the White House, Eggleston represented former colleagues during corruption investigations, including Clinton's transportation secretary, Federico Peña, and his labor secretary, Alexis Herman.^[6] In both cases, no charges were ever filed.^[6]

In 2001, Eggleston represented Cheryl Mills, who was a board member of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library foundation, during a congressional investigation into President Clinton's last-minute pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, whose wife had been a foundation donor.^[6]

In 2005, Eggleston left the law firm of Howrey and joined the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton as a partner, where he remained until 2012.^[7]

In 2007, Eggleston represented Sara Taylor, who was a White House political affairs director in the George W. Bush administration, during an inquiry from a congressional oversight committee into the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy and other Bush policies that Democrats believed had politicized the work of federal agencies.^[6]

In 2009, Eggleston represented then-Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel during the prosecution of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.^[5] Around that same time, he also represented then-Sen. Kent Conrad during a congressional ethics inquiry into a mortgage he had received from Countrywide Financial.^[6]

From 2012 until 2014, Eggleston was a litigation partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, based in Washington.^[8] Eggleston's private sector work included helping corporations navigate regulations imposed by the Obama administration.^[9]

White House Counsel

On April 21, 2014, the White House announced that Eggleston would become White House counsel, replacing Kathryn Ruemmler upon her departure in May 2014.^[3]

Personal

Eggleston lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with his spouse Penda Hair, who co-founded and co-directs the civil rights organization Advancement Project. His daughter Rachel graduated from Dartmouth College in 2012 and his son Nathanael will graduate from Duke University in 2015. Rachel is a Teach For America corps member in Rhode Island, and Nathanael plays for the Duke University soccer team.^[10]

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

White House Counsels Rosenman Clifford Murphy Stephens Shanley Morgan Kendall Sorensen Feldman Serner Temple Ehrlichman Dean Garment Casselman Buchen Lipshutz Cutler Fielding Wallison Culvahouse Gray Nussbaum Cutler Mikva Quinn Ruff Nolan Gonzales Miers Fielding Craig Bauer Ruemmler Eggleston