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

Reince's Real Problem

“This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine” --President Donald J. Trump, February 16, 2017

 

It has been a very difficult first month for the fledgling Trump administration. To describe the situation as chaos, bedlam, dysfunction—whatever term you want to use to describe the situation in the White House—is not hyperbole, alternative facts, or fake news. It is reality.

The level and intensity of the chaos within the West Wing is unprecedented in the modern era. Unfortunately for Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, much of the responsibility for bringing order to the West Wing rests with him—the administrative equivalent of taming a pride of circus lions with neither chair nor whip.

For the rest of my op-ed that appeared on CNN, click here.

Whither or Wither White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus?

The following op-ed first appeared at CNN Opinion on January 25, 2017 

After a brutal first several days for the Trump administration, one has to ask: where was the White House Chief of Staff? Traditionally, the chief of staff performs a number of valuable roles for a president, from advising him on policy and politics to representing him to the media and Congress to making sure the administrative and policy processes run efficiently. But during this difficult first week for the Trump White House, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus has been largely AWOL.

Continue reading...

No Western White House for Obama

Modern presidents often have a secluded place to vacation away from the White House. Although all presidents have the benefit of a short helicopter trip to Camp David to go to, most of our modern presidents choose to go to their personal residences or summer homes for as much of a vacation as they can get. In fact, George W. Bush, the current president, has spent a record number of days on vacation: almost 900, most of them on his ranch in the very secluded Crawford, Texas. I would argue, however, that presidents are never on vacation and that because of modern technology and communications, where they are located is relatively irrelevant. George H.W. Bush would often spend his down time at the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Ronald Reagan vacationed often at his California ranch. Bill Clinton is the only president in the last 30 years not to vacation at his family estate--because he didn't own one having moved right from the Arkansas governor's mansion to the White House.

Which brings us to Barack Obama. Reports are that Obama and family will achieve their R&R at their Chicago home, deep in the heart of Chicago's South Side. In fact, Obama will be the first modern president to have his primary "vacation" home in a large urban area which will cause challenges for the U.S. Secret Service as well as for the First Family's neighbors. According to the AP: "For security reasons, the Obamas' urban oasis already has changed. Their large red brick house doesn't have the benefit of being surrounded by acres of land like other presidential retreats, so the city streets near it look like a military zone with blocks-long metal and concrete barriers. Secret Service agents and police patrol the area." As someone who has driven through Chicago many times and dealt with the frustration of gridlocked interstates and even more gridlocked city streets, I feel for the residents of Obama's neighborhood. However, he and his family have earned the right to return to their real home as often as they wish; I'm guessing most of his neighbors will understand.