This paper examines the structure and functions of the White House staff, exploring how the various offices and advisors support the President in governing the nation. Beginning with the executive figures — the President, Vice President, and their spouses — the paper moves through the role of the Chief of Staff, Senior Advisors, and the Executive Office of the President. It then surveys key bodies including the National Security Council, Council of Economic Advisors, Council on Environmental Quality, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Domestic Policy Council, explaining how each contributes to setting and implementing national policy.
The White House staff refers specifically to the senior government officials who form the staff and advisors to the President. The White House staff therefore handles many important functions in the context of the government. This paper outlines the different members of the White House staff and the roles they play in helping run the nation.
No discussion of the White House could omit the President, First Lady, Vice President, and Second Lady. The President holds the highest office of power in the land. He lives at the White House with his family and has his office there as well. The First Lady has little formal power but is an influential person in the governance of the nation. First Ladies have traditionally used their positions and public exposure to launch different initiatives, ranging from anti-drug campaigns to school lunch programs.
The Vice President performs a key role within government. An important figurehead and the person who would replace the President in the event of a tragedy, the Vice President is also tasked with overseeing certain programs, building political consensus with Congress, and working with members of the White House staff on special projects. Vice President Biden, for example, convened the President's Cabinet for efforts to reduce gun violence (White House.gov, 2016). The Second Lady performs a role similar to that of the First Lady, though perhaps with a somewhat lower profile. Dr. Jill Biden launched an initiative called Joining Forces, which seeks to assist military families in need (Ibid.).
The President sets the strategic direction for the country but is not in any position to do it all himself. This is why the White House is comprised of a large number of bodies and advisors to assist with policy-setting. The President might have "10 top priorities on which he makes virtually all decisions… [and] 25 secondary priorities over which he has an influence." On those secondary priorities, the President might set the outline for the decision-making and then allow the Chief of Staff, with the work of advisors and different departments, to resolve conflicts, reconcile issues, and make the final decision on behalf of the President (Heineman, 2013).
The most important position besides those of the four executive figures is the White House Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff oversees the Executive Office of the President, which is responsible for supporting the President's work and agenda. This includes hiring key White House staff, managing communications and information flow, negotiating with Congress, and working with executive branch agencies (Mathews, 2013). The position is also viewed as essential to facilitating the top agenda items of the President, meaning that there is a great deal of negotiating with Congress and executive branch leaders.
The Chief of Staff is considered a position of significant power, in part because of the direct access to the President. The Chief of Staff controls access to the Oval Office, and by working closely with the President, holds considerable influence over how the executive branch functions and is responsible for ensuring that it runs well. There are several offices within the executive branch, including advisory offices, the First Lady's office, and several bodies in charge of policy — all of which the Chief of Staff oversees (Wiley, 2016).
Arguably, the Chief of Staff holds a more important role than that of the Vice President, because the role incorporates more operational functions. Setting policy requires gathering input from a wide variety of sources. These different advisors and agencies each provide information to the White House, and the Chief of Staff essentially serves as the gatekeeper for this information, controlling the flow of information to the President. This helps the President manage his time, but it also influences national policy. It is important, therefore, for the President and the Chief of Staff to share similar views regarding big-picture strategy.
Where the Chief of Staff is called upon to play a decision-making role, the Chief must gather information from the different stakeholders within government and the various advisors in order to reach a decision. The Chief will sometimes receive only general guidance from the President but will have to make his or her own decisions. For the most part, the Chief also determines which issues are presidential in nature and which are sub-presidential. On the latter, the Chief might be the sole policy-setter, as the President will not be involved at any point because the issue is simply not important enough to rise to that level.
The Chief's role is typically one of translating policy into politics (Heineman, 2013). The policy part — whether set by the President or otherwise — is focused on determining what the government wants to do. Politics is then about how the government will build a consensus to get it done. This is why Rahm Emanuel was credited for the key work on the Affordable Care Act: as Chief of Staff, he had to ensure that the legislation had enough votes to pass through both the House and Senate. The Chief of Staff thus plays a key role in actually getting things done, whether or not he has formal decision-making authority over a given issue. This role requires a high-level ability to process and prioritize information, as well as the political skills necessary to implement policy direction.
There are two Deputy Chiefs of Staff. These function as assistants to the President and play an important role in helping the Chief of Staff with the implementation of different policy initiatives. One of the Deputy Chiefs also holds a direct role in scheduling for the President and oversight of the different operational departments at the White House, including those relating to the physical premises, IT, and other aspects of daily operations.
There are three Senior Advisors at the White House. While there are entire groups of advisors covering a wide range of issues, the Senior Advisors play a special role in amassing knowledge and perspectives on key matters. They tend to specialize in specific areas. For example, one Senior Advisor specializes in equality issues, entrepreneurship, and public health; another specializes in a range of domestic and international policy issues including climate, conservation, and energy policy; and a third focuses on the communications side. These Senior Advisors therefore play a unique role in providing advice to the President and the Chief of Staff on key issues, helping contribute to the setting of a national strategic direction.
"EOP structure and functional sub-offices"
"NSC, economic, trade, science, and domestic councils"
The White House is a large body that plays a major role in running the country — it is not just the President. The Chief of Staff is the most important position within the White House other than the presidency itself. The Chief of Staff holds a key oversight role over the Executive Office of the President, and makes decisions on many issues that are lower in priority than those the President focuses on directly.
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