White House Chiefs of Staff, 1969-2017

Below is a list of modern White House Chiefs of Staff (1969-2017) compiled for a book I am co-authoring on the topic.

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*                              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-p             Trump                          Republican

* 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.

White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff, 1981-2017

Below is a list of individuals who have served as deputy chief of staff in the White House from 1981-2017. I compiled this information for the book I am co-authoring about the White House Chief of Staff and Office of Chief of Staff. This chart does not exist elsewhere as far as I know.

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 [01/20/93-05/93] 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 (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 (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-present]	Joseph W. Hagin (Operations) [01/20/17-present] Katie Walsh (Implementation) [01/20/17-present] Rick A. Dearborn (Policy) [01/20/17-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.”

Ohio, the Battleground States, and Candidate Visits During the 2012 Presidential Election

Here is some travel data from the 2012 presidential election. As you can see, Ohio led the way in combined candidate travel, followed by Virginia, Florida, Iowa, and Colorado.

Battleground state travel for 2012:

	Obama	Biden	Obama-Biden Total	Romney	Ryan	Romney-Ryan Total	Campaigns Combined
CO	15	1	16	7	8	15	31
FL	15	4	19	13	9	22	41
IA	12	3	15	11	7	18	33
MI	2	0	2	2	1	3	5
MN	1	0	1	0	1	1	2
NV	10	1	11	5	4	9	20
NH	7	1	8	6	2	8	16
NM	1	0	1	1	0	1	2
NC	5	1	6	3	0	3	9
OH	21	3	24	15	16	31	55
PA	2	0	2	4	2	6	8
VA	21	3	24	11	9	20	44
WI	8	3	11	3	3	6	17

First term travel by POTUS to Ohio has steadily increased since the early 1980s:

Reagan	9
Bush 41	18
Clinton	18
Bush 43	30
Obama	37

Obama's Swing State Travel Log

During presidential election years, I get asked by the media quite a bit about Ohio's role as a battleground or swing state. Besides the fact that Ohio is known as the "Mother of Presidents" with a direct connection to 8, in the modern era Ohio maintains its strategic importance to fashioning an electoral vote majority. If it wasn't important, presidential contenders and their campaign surrogates wouldn't visit Ohio as much as they do.

This concept of presidential travel and the electoral map motivated me to actually look at the data. What I present below is just a first swipe--I haven't drilled down into the numbers much. And, this is the beginning of what I hope will be a long-term project tracking the travel destinations of presidents, presidential candidates, and their surrogates.

President Obama's First Term Travel to 13 Swing States I have identified for 2012 election (as of July 13, 2012):*

Colorado: 10/4
Florida: 18/5
Iowa 10/4
Michigan 10/3
Minnesota: 6/1
Nevada: 10/4
New Hampshire: 6/2
New Mexico: 3/1
North Carolina: 10/3
Ohio: 22/6
Pennsylvania: 19/2
Virginia: 49/9
Wisconsin: 8/1

*First number is total separate trips to state; second number is separate trips to state in 2012 so far.

Although Virginia is the most visited battleground state by President Obama, many of those visits were in conjunction with his role as Commander-in-Chief and other official duties (e.g. visits to the Pentagon, CIA, etc.). Also, given Virginia's proximity to the White House and ease of travel to get there, it is unsurprising that it ranks first.

Ohio, it should surprise no one, ranks second, with Pennsylvania close behind. Obama has made 22 total visits to the Buckeye Battleground and 6 in 2012 alone with another one scheduled for this coming Monday in Cincinnati.

Another question intrigued me: how does Obama's travel to Ohio compare to other recent presidents in their first term? I did a quick check and here's what I came up with:

Reagan: 9
GHW Bush: 18
Clinton: 18
GW Bush: 30

It seems that even as Ohio's electoral vote totals have declined over time, Ohio is becoming increasingly popular with sitting first-term presidents.

More to come on this topic as the campaign season rages on.

Jeb Bush, Grover Norquist, and the Chickens Coming Home to Roost

Politico Arena Topic: Is Jeb Bush Right About Partisanship?

Governor Jeb Bush is absolutely correct when he says that Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush would be out of sync with today’s GOP. Make no mistake, Reagan and Bush were conservatives; however, both were willing to negotiate, compromise, and cut deals with the other side, despite differences in ideology and policy. Such behavior is considered treasonous today but governing was the priority, not the 24/7/365 campaign that dominates in the twenty-first century.

One can see in the Bush 41 presidency a foreshadowing of what would come: when he agreed with Democrats to raise taxes in the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1990 in an attempt to get America’s fiscal house in order and lower the deficit, he was assailed by the Right for discarding the “No New Taxes” pledge he made at the 1988 RNC Convention. In this instance, Bush acted with courage and did what he thought was in the best interests of the country. However, conservatives at the time such as Richard Viguerie assailed President Bush accusing him of abandoning conservative principles and being too willing to “cut deals with the Washington establishment.”

Today, the chickens have come home to roost. Most Congressional Republicans have signed Grover Norquist’s pledge not to raise taxes—ever. Republicans fear if they don’t sign the Norquist pledge, he will find someone who is willing to sign the pledge to defeat them in the next primary election. And with the Congressional map gerrymandered in such a way that most districts are safe, and with the invention of the SuperPAC and unlimited campaign spending, Republican members of Congress fear a primary challenge from an uber-funded fellow Republican more than anything. And so to avoid that primary challenge, Republican lawmakers uphold Conservative orthodoxy—regardless of merit and regardless of the consequences thus giving us stalemate.

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Finger-Wagging Just Latest Act of Disrespect Aimed at President

Last week after delivering his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama traveled to Arizona for an event and was met at the airport in Mesa by Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ). On the tarmac, the two got into a testy exchange regarding comments Brewer made in her book. The incident culminated with Brewer wagging her finger in the President's face. Brewer then recounted the incident in a publicity tour including an appearance on Fox News where guest host Monica Crowley applauded Brewer for "getting in the president’s grill" and adding "You go, girl."

My take: there is no excuse for Brewer's behavior. It is just another sign of a disrespect for the office of President and disrespect for the man currently occupying that office. Can you imagine the outrage had this occurred in 1984 and the president was Ronald Reagan? In the last 3 years, this President has been subject to a number of public slights that no president has endured. Can you imagine Dwight Eisenhower being heckled by a sitting member of Congress at a speech in front of a joint session of Congress like Barack Obama was in 2009 by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)? Can you imagine a birther controversy erupting about Sen. John McCain's place of birth had he won in 2008?

The question is: why is this happening? Part of it stems from the incivility that is plaguing our politics. But I think it goes beyond that. In my opinion, it has to do with race. There are some who will never accept a president of any color other than white. It is up to society as a whole, however, to condemn that kind of behavior and attitude.

Obama's Reelection Chances...Fifteen Months Out

Politico Arena Topic: Will President Obama Lose the 2012 Election?

President Ronald Reagan was at 43 percent in the Gallup Poll at the beginning of August 1983 (the exact point in his presidency that Barack Obama is at now). Fifteen months later he won a landslide victory for reelection. Lesson: if twenty four hours is a lifetime in politics, fifteen months is an eon.

Although things look bad for President Obama’s reelection at this moment in time, fortunately for him the election is not next week. It is impossible to predict what will happen over a year from now or to predict whether or not President Obama will be reelected. One thing that political scientists are sure of, however: if the economy improves substantially and unemployment falls, this will help the president immensely. If the economy continues to stagnate or worsen, President Obama is in huge trouble.

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Invoke the 14th Amendment--Political Consequences Be Damned

Politico Arena Topic: Should Obama Invoke the 14th Amendment?

In the event that Congress is unable to come to agreement on a balanced deficit reduction bill or a clean bill which simple raises the debt ceiling, President Obama should absolutely utilize his unilateral powers to raise it. During George W. Bush’s presidency, Congress raised the debt ceiling seven times with little fanfare. During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, Congress raised the limit eighteen times. I have little doubt that Presidents Reagan or Bush would have raised the ceiling unilaterally had Congress pulled the kinds of political shenanigans we are seeing today—consequences be damned.

The president’s most important responsibility is to protect the American people—allowing the country to default on its obligations would do irreparable harm to the economy and the citizenry. The President—any president—has a duty to not let that happen. Even without the 14th Amendment, President Obama would be justified in using his prerogative powers just as Abraham Lincoln did during the Civil War, and other presidents such as Woodrow Wilson and FDR did during times of crisis.

There would certainly be a political cost to using unilateral powers to end this congressionally contrived crisis; however, the costs of doing nothing would be much steeper. The House would likely move to impeach the President but even if successful, a conviction would be unlikely in the Senate where a 2/3 majority is necessary for removal. For many, President Obama would be a hero as he moved decisively to save a country held hostage by Tea Party radicals in the House of Representatives.

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Allen West, Threats to the Gene Pool, and Dishonoring Congress

Politico Arena Topic: Should Allen West Apologize to Debbie Wasserman Schultz?

Republican Representative Allen West (R-FL) went way too far in his personal attack on Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), his colleague in the House and his representative since West lives in her South Florida district. But what do you expect from a guy that wrote to his constituents that: “I must confess, when I see anyone with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker, I recognize them as a threat to the gene pool.”

Clearly the GOP lurched far-rightward after the 2010 election; however, guys like West have gone so far right that Ronald Reagan would be considered a RINO and have little chance of rising to the top of the GOP. His personal tirade against Wasserman Schultz demonstrates a lack of civility and calmness of demeanor that should be expected of our elected officials. West’s behavior dishonors Congress and should be condemned.

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Eugene Allen: A White House Butler's Amazing Journey

Last year, one of my students gave me a copy of a Washington Post article about a former White House butler who passed away March 31, 2010, who had worked at the White House for 34 years. It got buried in a pile of papers. I unearthed it and am very glad I did. The man's name was Eugene Allen and his story is fascinating. Allen, an African-American, grew up in Virginia during segregation. Working in the White House, he witnessed many of the pivotal historical moments of the 20th Century and was on hand in 2009 for the swearing-in of America's first president of color: Barack Obama.

Allen started at the White House in Harry Truman's last year: "In 1952, a lady told him of a job opening in the White House. 'I wasn't even looking for a job,' he says. 'I was happy where I was working, but she told me to go on over there and meet with a guy by the name of Alonzo Fields.' Fields was a maitre d', and he immediately liked Allen. Allen was offered a job as a 'pantry man.' He washed dishes, stocked cabinets and shined silverware. He started at $2,400 a year. There was, in time, a promotion to butler. 'Shook the hand of all the presidents I ever worked for,' he says.

Allen retired in 1986 after having served eight presidents. His tenure spanned many great moments in history, both for the country and himself. Perhaps his highest moment happened when he and his wife Helen attended a State Dinner as guests of the Reagan: "First lady Nancy Reagan came looking for him one afternoon, and Mr. Allen wondered whether he or a member of his staff had done something wrong. She assured him that he had not but also told him that his services would not be needed at the upcoming state dinner for German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Mr. Allen tensed, wondering why. "She said, 'You and Helene are coming to the state dinner as guests of President Reagan and myself,'... Mr. Allen thought he was the first butler to receive an invitation to a state dinner."

Read both WaPo articles linked above for more details on Allen's amazing career and life. It is a fascinating read about a fascinating man and his journey.

Obama, Libya, and the Inanity of Congressional Complaint

Politico Arena Topic: Did Obama Buck Congress on Libya?

“These strikes were conducted in the exercise of our right of self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. This necessary and appropriate action was a pre-emptive strike, directed against the Libyan terrorist infrastructure and designed to deter acts of terrorism by Libya….In accordance with my desire that Congress be informed on this matter, and consistent with the War Powers Resolution, I am providing this report on the employment of the United States Armed Forces. These self-defense measures were undertaken pursuant to my authority under the Constitution, including my authority as Commander in Chief of United States Armed Forces.” These words are not Barack Obama’s but Ronald Reagan’s almost fifteen years ago. They were communicated to Congress in a letter two days after the United States bombed Libya on April 14, 1986.



In the modern era and despite passage of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, presidents rarely “consult” Congress (thus bypassing Section 3 of the War Power Resolution); instead they “inform” Congress after military action commences or at least as it about to commence. All Presidents—Democrat and Republican—jealously guard that prerogative. If Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is correct (and I don’t think he is), every president since the Watergate Era could have been impeached based on their interpretation of presidential war powers. As a practical matter, however, it is business as usual—presidents command the troops as they see fit and Congress complains that they’ve been ignored.

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Witnessing History Through a Camera Lens

Don Gonyea had a great segment recently on NPR in which he interviewed Shelly Fielman, a cameraman from NBC and member of the White House Press Corps, about his experiences. Fielman began covering American presidents in 1963 and hasn't stopped since. From the Lee Harvey Oswald shooting to the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan to KKK rallies, Fielman has seen--and recorded--it all.

The interview is well worth listening to in its entirety. Fielman is a walking, breating, working, institution. Without people like Fielman, the rich history of the modern American presidency would not seem as rich.

(By the way, Fielman is holding the middle camera in the picture above in the aftermath of the 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan)

The Politics of New START and the Echo of Jesse Helms

The New START Treaty (what should really be called START III), a treaty that would reduce the nuclear stockpiles of the U.S. and Russia to historically low levels, should have sailed through the Senate with bipartisan support. After all, most arms control treaties do just that. Politics stops at the water's edge...at least it used to. Just look at the list of arms control/defense treaties since 1963:

• Limited Test Ban Treaty, 1963 -- 80-19.
• Non-Proliferation Treaty, 1969 -- 83-15. (7 Democrats and eight Republicans voted against.)
• Latin American Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty, 1971 -- 70-0.
• Seabed Arms Control Treaty, 1972 -- 83-0.
• Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, 1972 -- 88-2. (U.S. later withdrew.)
• Biological Weapons Convention, 1974 -- 90-0.
• Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, 1988 -- 93-5.
• Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty and Threshold Test Ban Treaty, 1990 -- 98-0 (to ratify both treaties).
• Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, 1991 -- 90-4.
• Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, also known as START I, 1992 -- 93-6. (Expired 2009.)
• Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II, also known as START II, 1996 -- 87-4.
• Chemical Weapons Convention, 1997 -- 74-26 (with 29 Republicans joining 45 Democrats in voting yes and 26 Republicans voting no.).
• Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, also known as the Moscow Treaty, 2003 -- 95-0.

Even divided government has not been an impediment to passing arms control treaties. As reported by PolitiFact: "Thirteen of the 14 treaties above were ratified when one party held the presidency and the other party held the Senate." Only the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, a treaty negotiated under Reagan and G.H.W. Bush and signed under Clinton, did not sleepwalk through the Senate and that was largely because of the opposition of Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), the Senate Foreign Relations Chair. Few members of Congress were more ideological or partisan than Helms an the 1990s--a conservative ideologue whose hatred for President Bill Clinton was unmatched. Still, despite Helms' attempts to sabotage the treaty, it mustered a 74 votes, more than enough to pass the 2/3 threshold.

So what's the problem with New START? Actually little unless you are a sitting Republican Senator more interested in political gamesmanship than U.S. national security. There is a reason that just about every establishment Republican and Democrat has lined up in support of the treaty. Such well-respected party luminaries on both sides of the aisle as James Baker, Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, William Cohen, Madeline Albright, and Colin Powell, have publicly committed to supporting the New START Treaty and the Obama administration in this endeavor. Even Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee has staked his political career and opened himself up to a primary challenge for his strong support of the treaty. Why? Because Lugar always puts principle above party and it's one of the reasons why he is beloved by so many on both sides of the aisle.

All of this has not stopped Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), the Republican Whip, from attempting to scuttle the treaty and deny President Obama a foreign policy victory. His intransigence is a reminder that current day senators cast in the mold of Jesse Helms are omnipresent in the 21st Century Senate. In fact, Kyl was one of Helms' compatriots opposing the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997. The real shame is that the Senate, in the eyes of James Madison, was supposed to be the body of maturity and coolness to offset the passions of the more unruly House. In 2010, however, both chambers resemble twins, dedicated to partisanship and political oneupsmanship at the expense of the national good.

In the end, New START will likely pass but not without an already unacceptable delay. Because the original START Treaty expired in December 2009, American inspectors are no longer on the ground in Russia. Every day that passage of New START is delayed is yet another day where American inspectors do not have access to Russia's nuclear stockpile and American national security is at greater risk.

Back to the Future: Solar Panels to Return to White House

In 1979, at the height of the energy crisis, President Jimmy Carter installed 32 solar panels atop the West Wing of the White House to great fanfare. They were removed by the Reagan administration in 1986.

Today the Obama administration announced it would be bringing solar back to the White House next spring spearheading a push to promote solar energy. This time the panels will be located on the White House residence.

Not surprisingly, partisan critics are comparing President Obama to Carter for his move back to solar. The problem: they fail to criticize to George W. Bush as well. "In 2003, President George W. Bush quietly installed a series of three solar systems on the White House grounds, including panels on the pool cabana to help with water heating." The hard cold truth is that the development of green energy and energy independence is not a partisan issue, or at least it shouldn't be.