The White House Office of the Chief of Staff-2020 Transition Brief

Since 1997, the White House Transition Project has provided non-partisan expertise in all phases of democratic transitions, from constitution-building in emerging democracies to regularized, statute driven transfers of power. Since 2007, I have been fortunate to contribute to this great organization

My 2020 co-authored long briefing paper with Chuck Walcott on the White House Office of the Chief of Staff is here. Our short overview briefing is here.

How Donald Trump Could Win the Presidency -- and Have Kamala Harris as His VP

 Rob Alexander and I discuss how an Electoral College tie is possible--much more possible than conventionally thought. See the CNN Op-Ed here.

GOP Push to Fill RBG's Seat Could Backfire Spectacularly

"Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death has pulled the High Court once again into the whirlwind of drama of a presidential campaign."

Rob Alexander and I discuss the Supreme Court vacancy and possible long term implications in this CNN Op-Ed here.

The Three Women Who Should Be at the Top of Biden's VP List

Where Rob Alexander and I discuss Joe Biden's top choices for running-mate. Spoiler alert: we were right.

Full CNN Op-Ed here.

White House Chief of Staff Tenure, Reagan-Trump (as of May 15, 2020)

POTUS	Chief of Staff	Start	Finish	Days
Reagan 40	James A. Baker III	1/20/1981	2/4/1985	1476
	Donald T. Regan	2/4/1985	3/2/1987	756
	Howard H. Baker, Jr.	3/2/1987	7/1/1988	487
	Kenneth M. Duberstein	7/1/1988	1/20/1989	203
Bush 41	John H. Sununu	1/20/1989	12/6/1991	1050
	Samuel K. Skinner	12/6/1991	8/14/1992	252
	James A. Baker III	8/14/1992	1/20/1993	159
Clinton 42	Thomas F. McLarty III	1/20/1993	6/28/1994	524
	Leon E. Panetta	6/28/1994	1/17/1997	934
	Erskine B. Bowles	1/17/1997	10/21/1998	642
	John D. Podesta	10/21/1998	1/20/2001	822
Bush 43	Andrew H. Card, Jr.	1/20/2001	4/14/2006	1910
	Joshua B. Bolten	4/14/2006	1/20/2009	1012
Obama 44	Rahm I. Emanuel	1/20/2009	10/1/2010	619
	William M. Daley	1/13/2011	1/27/2012	379
	Jacob J. Lew	1/27/2012	1/25/2013	364
	Denis R. McDonough	1/25/2013	1/20/2017	1456
Trump 45	Renhold R. "Reince" Priebus	1/20/2017	7/31/2017	192
	John F. Kelly	7/31/2017	1/2/2019	520
	John "Mick" Mulvaney	1/2/2019	3/31/2020	454
	Mark R. Meadows	3/31/2020	present

COS TENURE	AVG
RR-DT COS AVG TENURE:	711
REAGAN 40 COS AVG TENURE:	731
BUSH 41 COS AVG TENURE:	487
CLINTON 42 COS AVG TENURE:	731
BUSH 43 COS AVG TENURE:	1461
OBAMA 44 COS AVG TENURE:	705
TRUMP 45 COS AVG TENURE:	389

Ohio Isn't Off the Table: It's Still a Battleground and That's Bad News for Trump.

"President Donald Trump is currently struggling in Ohio, suggesting his path to a second term may be very difficult. No Republican has ever won the White House without Ohio, and only twice since 1896 has a Democrat become president without it. Trump himself has proclaimed that 'you can’t win unless you win the state of Ohio.'"

For the rest of this USA Today opinion piece I co-authored with Robe Alexander from Ohio Northern University and Lauren Copeland from Baldwin Wallace University, click here.

White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff, 1981-2020 (as of April 20, 2020)

President	Chief of Staff	Deputy Chiefs of Staff[1]
Ronald W. Reagan	James A. Baker III [01/20/81-02/02/85]	Michael K. Deaver [01/20/81-05/10/85]
	Donald T. Regan [02/02/85-02/27/87]	Michael K. Deaver [01/20/81-05/10/85] W. Dennis Thomas [07/15/85-05/87][2]
	Howard H. Baker, Jr. [02/27/87-07/01/88]	Kenneth M. Duberstein [03/23/87-07/01/88]
	Kenneth M. Duberstein [07/01/88-01/20/89]	M.B. Oglesby, Jr. [07/05/88-01/20/89]
George H.W. Bush	John H. Sununu [01/20/89-12/16/91]	Andrew H. Card, Jr. [01/20/89-02/03/92][3] James W. Cicconi [01/89-01/91][4]
	Samuel K. Skinner [12/16/91-08/23/92]	Andrew H. Card, Jr. [01/20/89-02/03/92] William Henson Moore, III [02/03/92-08/23/92]
	James A. Baker III [08/23/92-01/20/93]	Robert B. Zoellick [08/23/92-01/20/93]
William J Clinton	Thomas F. McLarty III [01/20/93-07/17/94]	Mark D. Gearan [01/20/93-06/07/93] Roy M. Neel [05/93-11/93] Philip Lader [12/93-10/03/94] Harold M. Ickes [01/03/94-01/20/97]
	Leon E. Panetta [07/17/94-01/20/97]	Harold M. Ickes (Policy and Political Affairs) [01/03/94-01/20/97] Philip Lader [12/93-10/03/94] Erskine B. Bowles (White House Operations) [10/03/94-01/11/96] Evelyn S. Lieberman (White House Operations) [01/11/96-12/96]
	Erskine B. Bowles [01/20/97-10/20/98]	Sylvia M. Mathews [01/97-05/98] Maria Echaveste [05/29/98-01/20/01] John D. Podesta [01/97-10/20/98]
	John D. Podesta [10/20/98-01/20/01]	Maria Echaveste [05/29/98-01/20/01] Stephen J. Ricchetti [11/98-01/20/01]
George W. Bush	Andrew H. Card, Jr. [01/20/01-04/14/06]	Joseph W. Hagin II (Operations) [01/20/01-07/20/08] Joshua B. Bolten (Policy) [01/20/01-06/26/03] Harriet E. Miers (Policy) [06/27/03-02/03/05] Karl C. Rove (Policy) [02/03/05-08/31/07]
	Joshua B. Bolten [04/14/06-01/21/09]	Joseph W. Hagin II (Operations) [01/20/01-07/20/08] Blake L. Gottesman (Operations) [07/20/08-01/20/09] Karl C. Rove (Planning) [02/03/05-08/31/07] Joel D. Kaplan (Policy) [04/19/06-01/20/09]
Barack H. Obama	Rahm I. Emanuel [01/20/09-10/1/10]	James A. Messina (Operations) [01/20/09-01/26/11] Mona K. Sutphen (Policy) [01/20/09-01/26/11]
	William M. Daley [01/13/11-01/27/12]	Alyssa Mastromonaco (Operations) [01/27/11-present] Nancy-Anne DeParle (Policy) [01/27/11-01/25/13]
	Jacob J. Lew [01/27/12-01/25/13]	Alyssa Mastromonaco (Operations) [01/27/11-present] Nancy-Anne DeParle (Policy) [01/27/11-01/25/13]
	Denis R. McDonough [01/25/13-01/20/17]	Alyssa Mastromonaco (Operations) [01/27/11-05/14] Anita J. Decker Breckenridge (Operations) [05/14-01/20/17] Rob Nabors (Policy) [01/25/13-04/02/15] Mark B. Childress (Planning) [01/12-05/22/14] Kristie Canegallo (Implementation) [05/22/14-01/20/17]
Donald J. Trump	Reinhold R. “Reince” Priebus [01/20/17-07/31/17]	Katie Walsh (Implementation) [01/20/17-03/30/17] Joseph W. Hagin II (Operations) [01/20/17-07/06/18] Rick A. Dearborn[5] (Policy) [01/20/17-03/16/18]
	John F. Kelly [07/31/17-01/02/19]	Kirstjen M. Nielsen (Principal Deputy) [09/06/17-12/06/17] James W. Carroll, Jr. [12/06/17-02/09/18] Zachary D. Fuentes (Deputy) [06/06/18-01/02/19] Joseph W. Hagin II (Operations) [01/20/17-07/06/18] Daniel P. Walsh (Operations) [07/06/18-12/19] Rick A. Dearborn (Policy) [01/20/17-03/16/18] Christopher P. Liddell (Policy Coordination) [03/19/18-present] William “Bill” Shine (Communications) [07/05/18-03/08/19]
	John “Mick” Mulvaney [01/02/19-03/31/20]	Emma Doyle (Principal Deputy) [01/03/19-present] Daniel P. Walsh (Operations) [07/06/18-12/29] Anthony Ornato (Operations) [12/19-present] Christopher P. Liddell (Policy Coordination) [03/19/18-present] William “Bill” Shine (Communications) [07/05/18-03/08/19]
	Mark R. Meadows [03/31/20-present]	Emma Doyle (Principal Deputy) [01/03/19-present] Anthony Ornato (Operations) [12/19-present] Christopher P. Liddell (Policy Coordination) [03/19/18-present]

---

[1] Unless otherwise indicated, staffers had the formal title “deputy chief of staff.”

[2] Official title was “Assistant to the President.”

[3] Official title was “Deputy to the Chief of Staff.”

[4] Official title was “Deputy to the Chief of Staff.”

[5] Title listed as Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Cabinet, Intergovernmental Affairs and Implementation in the Annual Report to Congress on White House Personnel, June 30, 2017

White House Chiefs of Staff, 1969-2020 (as of April 20, 2020)

Chief of Staff                                      Tenure              President                      Party

Harry Robbins (H.R.) Haldeman          1969-73         Nixon                           Republican

Alexander M. Haig, Jr.                        1973-74         Nixon                           Republican

Donald H. Rumsfeld                             1974-75         Ford                             Republican

Richard M. Cheney                              1975-77         Ford                             Republican

William Hamilton M. Jordan                1979-80         Carter                          Democratic

Jack H. Watson, Jr.                              1980-81         Carter                          Democratic

James A. Baker III                                1981-85         Reagan                        Republican

Donald T. Regan                                  1985-87         Reagan                        Republican

Howard H. Baker, Jr.                           1987-88         Reagan                        Republican

Kenneth M. Duberstein                         1988-89         Reagan                        Republican

John H. Sununu                                     1989-91         G.H.W. Bush                Republican

Samuel K. Skinner                                1991-92         G.H.W. Bush                Republican

James A. Baker III                                1992-93         G.H.W. Bush                Republican

Thomas F. McLarty III                           1993-94         Clinton                         Democratic

Leon E. Panetta                                    1994-97         Clinton                         Democratic

Erskine B. Bowles                                 1997-98         Clinton                         Democratic

John D. Podesta                                   1998-01         Clinton                         Democratic

Andrew H. Card, Jr.                            2001-06         G.W. Bush                   Republican

Joshua B. Bolten                                   2006-09         G.W. Bush                   Republican

Rahm I. Emanuel[1]                                 2009-10         Obama                        Democratic

William M. Daley                                2011-12         Obama                        Democratic

Jacob J. Lew                                        2012-13         Obama                        Democratic

Denis R. McDonough                            2013-17         Obama                        Democratic

Reinhold R. “Reince” Priebus                2017               Trump                          Republican

John F. Kelly                                        2017-19         Trump                          Republican

John “Mick” Mulvaney[2]                        2019-20         Trump                          Republican

Mark R. Meadows                               2020-p            Trump                          Republican

---

[1] After Emanuel left his post to run for mayor of Chicago, Senior Adviser Peter M. Rouse served as interim chief of staff from October 1, 2010, to January 13, 2011.

[2] Had title “Acting Chief of Staff”