Counselor to the President: Difference between revisions

Counselor to the President
Counselor to the President
	Incumbent; Steve Ricchetti; since January 20, 2021
	Executive Office of the President; White House Office
Appointer	Joe Biden; as President of the United States
Formation	January 20, 1969; 55 years ago
First holder	Arthur F. Burns
Website	The White House

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Revision as of 21:24, 27 April 2022

Counselor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office.

The current officeholders are Steve Ricchetti and Jeffrey Zients. The position should not be confused with the office of White House Counsel, who is the chief legal advisor to the president and the White House, which is also an appointed position.

History

The position was created during the administration of Richard Nixon, where it was assigned Cabinet rank. It remained a Cabinet-level position until 1993.^[1]

During Nixon's presidency, no fewer than eight individuals held the position, with there sometimes being two or three concurrent incumbents.

During the presidency of Gerald Ford, the post was shared by longtime communications advisor Robert T. Hartmann and national security aide John O. Marsh, with former United States Secretary of Commerce Rogers Morton briefly joining them as a domestic policy advisor in early 1976.

The position was vacant during the Jimmy Carter administration, as Carter initially left many senior White House positions unfilled (such as White House Chief of Staff) and preferred a smaller corps of advisers.^[2]

Edwin Meese held the position during the first term of President Ronald Reagan, and was highly influential inside the White House. Meese, Chief of Staff James Baker and Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver were nicknamed "the Troika" and considered the most influential advisors to the president.^[3] Meese became United States attorney general during Reagan's second term as president and the position was left vacant.

The position was left vacant in the first three years of President George H.W. Bush's term. In 1992, it was filled by Clayton Yeutter following his resignation as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

During the Bill Clinton administration, the post became much more focused on communications. Two of Clinton's counselors, David Gergen and Paul Begala, later became CNN political analysts.

During the administration of George W. Bush, the position oversaw the communications, media affairs, speechwriting, and press offices.^[4]

Under the Obama administration, the position was initially abolished and the duties of the office transferred to three senior advisors: David Axelrod,^[5]^[6] Pete Rouse,^[6]^[7] and Valerie Jarrett,^[8] who also held the title Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison.^[6] On January 6, 2011, President Obama appointed Rouse as counselor to the president where he was responsible for assisting the president and chief of staff with the day-to-day management of White House staff operations.^[9]^[10] John Podesta was the last person to hold the position before he left to join the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign of 2016 as chairman.^[11]

Soon after the 2016 election, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to name his campaign manager during the general election, Kellyanne Conway, to the position^[12] and his campaign CEO Steve Bannon as a senior counselor and chief strategist.^[13] With equivalent standing to the chief of staff and a portfolio that hewed closely to the pre-Clinton iteration of the position, Bannon was named to the Principals Committee of the National Security Council in a January 2017 executive order that also removed the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the committee.^[14] Following vociferous public opposition to the decision, Trump removed Bannon from the council in April 2017.^[15]

After Bannon's departure from the White House in August 2017, Johnny DeStefano was given the title^[16] in February 2018, with responsibility for overseeing the offices of presidential personnel, political affairs, and public liaison.

In February 2020, it was announced that former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks would return to the White House Office in the role.^[17]

List of counselors to the president

Counselor			Start	End	Party	President
		Arthur F. Burns (1904–1987)	January 20, 1969	November 5, 1969	Republican	Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
		Pat Moynihan (1927–2003)	November 5, 1969^[18]	December 31, 1970^[19]	Democratic
		Bryce Harlow (1916–1987)	November 5, 1969^[18]	December 9, 1970^[20]	Republican
		Robert Finch (1925–1995)	June 23, 1970^[21]	December 15, 1972^[22]	Republican
		Donald Rumsfeld (1932–2021)	December 11, 1970^[23]	October 15, 1971^[23]	Republican
		Anne Armstrong (1927–2008)	January 19, 1973	December 18, 1974	Republican
		Dean Burch (1927–1991)	March 8, 1974^[24]	December 31, 1974^[25]	Republican
		Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)	May 29, 1974^[26]	September 19, 1974^[27]	Republican
		Robert T. Hartmann^[28] (1917–2008)	August 9, 1974	January 20, 1977	Republican	Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
		John O. Marsh (1926–2019)	August 9, 1974^[29]	January 20, 1977^[30]	Democratic
		Rogers Morton^[31] (1914–1979)	February 2, 1976	April 1, 1976	Republican
Vacant					Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
		Edwin Meese (born 1931)	January 20, 1981	February 25, 1985	Republican	Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
Vacant						Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
Vacant					George H.W. Bush (1989–1993)
		Clayton Yeutter (1930–2017)	February 1, 1992	January 20, 1993	George H.W. Bush (1989–1993)	Republican
Vacant					Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
		David Gergen (born 1942)	May 29, 1993	June 10, 1994		Republican
Vacant
		Mack McLarty (born 1946)	July 17, 1994^[32]	June 30, 1998^[33]		Democratic
	Bill Curry	Bill Curry (born 1951)	February 21, 1995	January 20, 1997		Democratic
		Paul Begala (born 1961)	August 17, 1997^[34]	March 10, 1999		Democratic
		Ann Lewis (born 1937)	March 10, 1999	January 20, 2001		Democratic
		Karen Hughes (born 1956)	January 20, 2001	July 8, 2002	Republican	George W. Bush (2001–2009)
Vacant
		Dan Bartlett (born 1971)	January 5, 2005	July 5, 2007	Republican
		Ed Gillespie (born 1961)	July 5, 2007	January 20, 2009	Republican
Vacant					Barack Obama (2009–2017)
		Pete Rouse (born 1946)	January 13, 2011	January 1, 2014		Democratic
		John Podesta (born 1949)	January 1, 2014	February 13, 2015		Democratic
Vacant
		Kellyanne Conway (born 1967)^[35]^[36]	January 20, 2017	August 31, 2020^[37]	Republican	Donald Trump (2017–2021)
		Steve Bannon (born 1953)^[35]^[36]	January 20, 2017	August 18, 2017^[38]	Republican
		Johnny DeStefano (born 1979)	February 9, 2018	May 24, 2019^[39]^[40]	Republican
		Hope Hicks (born 1988)	March 9, 2020^[41]	January 12, 2021^[42]^[43]	Republican
		Derek Lyons	May 20, 2020^[44]	January 20, 2021^[45]	Republican
		Steve Ricchetti	January 20, 2021	present	Democratic	Joe Biden (2021–present)
		Jeffrey Zients (born 1966)	January 20, 2021	April 4, 2022	Democratic	Joe Biden (2021–present)

References

^ "Clayton Yeutter's Obituary". The Washington Post.
^ Walsh, Edward; article, Washington Post Staff Writer; Washington Post staff writer Robert G. Kaiser contributed to this (January 15, 1977). "Carter Names 12 Key Staff Aides". Retrieved January 24, 2018 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "The Presidential Troika". NYTimes.com. April 19, 1981. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
^ "Former Counselor to the President, Dan Bartlett's Biography". whitehouse.gov. October 22, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2016 – via National Archives.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
^ "Obama Picks William Daley As Chief Of Staff". NPR. January 6, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
^ "Daley's duties".
^ "Counselor to the President John Podesta". WhiteHouse.gov. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
^ "Trump Picks Kellyanne Conway to Serve as Counselor to the President". Politico. December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
^ "Trump's Pick of Steve Bannon as Chief Strategist Sparks Backlash". NBC News. November 14, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
^ Thrush, Glenn; Haberman, Maggie (January 30, 2017). "Bannon is Given Security Role Usually Held for Generals". The New York Times.
^ "Steve Bannon loses National Security Council seat". BBC News. April 5, 2017.
^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. February 9, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2019 – via National Archives.
^ Haberman, Maggie (February 13, 2020). "Hope Hicks to Return to the White House After a Nearly Two-Year Absence". The News York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b [1] Archived October 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
^ "White House Farewell". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ "Harlow Resigns As Aide to Nixon; Will Return to Lobbyist Post". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ "Finch and the Postwar Economy". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ [2] ^{[dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b [3] ^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Burch Under Senate Pressure to Step Up FCC Departure 3 Vacancies". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ "Burch Resigning as White House Adviser Notes on People". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ "Rush Sworn as Counselor to President on Economy". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ "Kenneth Rush – People – Department History – Office of the Historian". History.state.gov. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
^ Dennis Hevesi (April 19, 2008). "Robert Hartmann, 91, Dies; Wrote Ford's Noted Talk". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
^ "Ford Bids Cabinet and Agency Heads Remain in Post Indefinite Stays". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ "Ford Making Plans For Handing Over Controls to Carter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
^ "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum". www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov.
^ NELSON, JACK (June 28, 1994). "Panetta Named Chief of Staff in Major White House Shake-Up : Presidency: Clinton's friend McLarty will step aside and become the counselor to the President. Gergen will move to State Dept. and Rivlin will be budget director in effort to add 'strength, vitality.'". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
^ Broder, John M. (April 25, 1998). "President's Friend Is Leaving White House for Private Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
^ "News Summary". The New York Times. August 17, 1997. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Executive Office Of The President Annual Report To Congress On White House Office Personnel White House Office As Of: Friday, June 30, 2017" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. p. 3 – via National Archives.
^ ^a ^b Senior Counselor
^ "Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls)". twitter.com.
^ "Bannon out as White House chief strategist". Politico. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. February 9, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018 – via National Archives.
^ Dawsey, Josh; Sonmez, Felicia (May 21, 2019). "Long-serving Trump aide DeStefano to depart White House". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
^ Cook, Nancy; McGraw, Meredith (April 27, 2020). "Trump looks to Hope Hicks as coronavirus crisis spills over". Politico. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
^ "Hope Hicks to Return to the White House After a Nearly Two-Year Absence". The New York Times. February 13, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
^ Brown, Pamela; Gangel, Jamie (January 13, 2021). "Top White House adviser Hicks no longer works at the White House, a previously planned departure". CNN. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov (Press release). February 9, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 – via National Archives.
^ "Annual Report to Congress on White House Office Personnel" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. June 26, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 – via National Archives.

[1] "Clayton Yeutter's Obituary". The Washington Post.

[2] Walsh, Edward; article, Washington Post Staff Writer; Washington Post staff writer Robert G. Kaiser contributed to this (January 15, 1977). "Carter Names 12 Key Staff Aides". Retrieved January 24, 2018 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[3] "The Presidential Troika". NYTimes.com. April 19, 1981. Retrieved November 14, 2016.

[4] "Former Counselor to the President, Dan Bartlett's Biography". whitehouse.gov. October 22, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2016 – via National Archives.

[5] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[Change-6] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[7] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[8] "Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2016.

[Daley_chief_of_staff_appointment-9] "Obama Picks William Daley As Chief Of Staff". NPR. January 6, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2011.

[10] "Daley's duties".

[11] "Counselor to the President John Podesta". WhiteHouse.gov. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.

[12] "Trump Picks Kellyanne Conway to Serve as Counselor to the President". Politico. December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.

[13] "Trump's Pick of Steve Bannon as Chief Strategist Sparks Backlash". NBC News. November 14, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2019.

[14] Thrush, Glenn; Haberman, Maggie (January 30, 2017). "Bannon is Given Security Role Usually Held for Generals". The New York Times.

[15] "Steve Bannon loses National Security Council seat". BBC News. April 5, 2017.

[16] "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. February 9, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2019 – via National Archives.

[17] Haberman, Maggie (February 13, 2020). "Hope Hicks to Return to the White House After a Nearly Two-Year Absence". The News York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2021.

[query.nytimes.com-18] [1] Archived October 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

[19] "White House Farewell". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.

[20] "Harlow Resigns As Aide to Nixon; Will Return to Lobbyist Post". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.

[21] "Finch and the Postwar Economy". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.

[22] [2] ^{[dead link‍]}

[nytimes.com-23] [3] ^{[dead link‍]}

[24] "Burch Under Senate Pressure to Step Up FCC Departure 3 Vacancies". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.

[25] "Burch Resigning as White House Adviser Notes on People". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.

[26] "Rush Sworn as Counselor to President on Economy". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.

[27] "Kenneth Rush – People – Department History – Office of the Historian". History.state.gov. Retrieved November 14, 2016.

[28] Dennis Hevesi (April 19, 2008). "Robert Hartmann, 91, Dies; Wrote Ford's Noted Talk". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2016.

[29] "Ford Bids Cabinet and Agency Heads Remain in Post Indefinite Stays". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016.

[30] "Ford Making Plans For Handing Over Controls to Carter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.

[31] "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum". www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov.

[32] NELSON, JACK (June 28, 1994). "Panetta Named Chief of Staff in Major White House Shake-Up : Presidency: Clinton's friend McLarty will step aside and become the counselor to the President. Gergen will move to State Dept. and Rivlin will be budget director in effort to add 'strength, vitality.'". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved November 15, 2017.

[33] Broder, John M. (April 25, 1998). "President's Friend Is Leaving White House for Private Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 15, 2017.

[34] "News Summary". The New York Times. August 17, 1997. Retrieved November 18, 2016.

[White_House_Office_2017-35] "Executive Office Of The President Annual Report To Congress On White House Office Personnel White House Office As Of: Friday, June 30, 2017" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. p. 3 – via National Archives.

[Senior_Counselor-36] Senior Counselor

[37] "Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls)". twitter.com.

[38] "Bannon out as White House chief strategist". Politico. Retrieved January 24, 2018.

[39] "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. February 9, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018 – via National Archives.

[40] Dawsey, Josh; Sonmez, Felicia (May 21, 2019). "Long-serving Trump aide DeStefano to depart White House". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 15, 2019.

[41] Cook, Nancy; McGraw, Meredith (April 27, 2020). "Trump looks to Hope Hicks as coronavirus crisis spills over". Politico. Retrieved September 3, 2020.

[42] "Hope Hicks to Return to the White House After a Nearly Two-Year Absence". The New York Times. February 13, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.

[43] Brown, Pamela; Gangel, Jamie (January 13, 2021). "Top White House adviser Hicks no longer works at the White House, a previously planned departure". CNN. Retrieved January 14, 2021.

[44] "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov (Press release). February 9, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 – via National Archives.

[45] "Annual Report to Congress on White House Office Personnel" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. June 26, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 – via National Archives.

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v t e Executive Office of the United States President
Executive Office	Advisory Boards (Council for Community Solutions, Corporation for National and Community Service, Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, President's Intelligence Advisory Board, President's Management Advisory Board) Council of Economic Advisers Council on Environmental Quality Digital Service Executive Residence (Committee for the Preservation of the White House, Office of the Curator, Office of the Chief Usher, Office of the Chief Floral Designer, Office of the Executive Chef, Graphics and Calligraphy Office) National Space Council National Security Council (Deputies Committee) Homeland Security Council Office of Administration (Office of Mail and Messenger Operations, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer) Office of Management and Budget (Office of the Chief Performance Officer, Office of E-Government and Information Technology, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs) Office of National Drug Control Policy Office of Science and Technology Policy (Office of the Chief Technology Officer, National Science and Technology Council) Office of the Trade Representative Office of the Vice President (Office of the Chief of Staff)
White House Office	Office of Cabinet Affairs Office of the Chief of Staff (Office of Senior Advisors) Office of Communications (Office of Media Affairs, Office of Research, Office of the Press Secretary, Office of Speechwriting) Counsel Counselor to the President Office of Digital Strategy Domestic Policy Council (Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Office of National AIDS Policy, Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, Rural Council) Fellows First Lady (Office of the Social Secretary) Office of the National Security Advisor (Homeland Security Advisor) Gun Violence Prevention Intergovernmental Affairs Legislative Affairs Management and Administration (White House Operations, White House Personnel, Visitors Office) National Economic Council National Trade Council Oval Office Operations (Personal Secretary) Office of Political Affairs Presidential Innovation Fellows Presidential Personnel Public Engagement (Council on Women and Girls, Jewish Liaison, Urban Affairs) Scheduling and Advance Staff Secretary (Executive Clerk, Presidential Correspondence, Office of Records Management) Military Office (Communications Agency, Medical Unit, Presidential Food Service, Transportation Agency)

Revision as of 21:24, 27 April 2022

History

List of counselors to the president

See also

References