Executive Office of the President of the United States

Executive Office of the President
Agency overview
Formed	1939
Headquarters	White House
Employees	Approx 2000
Agency executive	Jacob Lew, Chief of Staff
Parent agency	Federal government of the United States
Website
Executive Office of the President

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, currently Jacob Lew. The size of the White House staff has increased dramatically since 1939, and has grown to include an array of policy experts in various fields.

History

In 1939, during Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term in office, the foundations of the modern White House staff were created. Based on the recommendations of a presidentially commissioned panel of political science and public administration experts, the Brownlow Committee, Roosevelt was able to get Congress to approve the Reorganization Act of 1939. The Act led to Reorganization Plan No. 1, which created the EOP, which reported directly to the president. The EOP encompassed two subunits at its outset: the White House Office (WHO) and the Bureau of the Budget, the predecessor to today's Office of Management and Budget, which had been created in 1921 and originally located in the Treasury Department. It absorbed most of the functions of the National Emergency Council. Initially, the new staff system appeared more ambitious on paper than in practice; the increase in the size of the staff was quite modest at the start. But it laid the groundwork for the large and organizationally complex White House staff that would emerge during the presidencies of Roosevelt's successors.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building at night.

Roosevelt's efforts are also notable in contrast to those of his predecessors in office. During the nineteenth century, presidents had few staff resources. Thomas Jefferson had one messenger and one secretary at his disposal, both of whose salaries were paid by the president personally. It was not until 1857 that Congress appropriated money ($2,500) for the hiring of one clerk. By Ulysses S. Grant's presidency, the staff had grown to three. By 1900, the White House staff included one "secretary to the president" (then the title of the president's chief aide), two assistant secretaries, two executive clerks, a stenographer, and seven other office personnel. Under Warren G. Harding, the size of the staff expanded to thirty-one, although most were clerical positions. During Herbert Hoover's presidency, two additional secretaries to the president were added by Congress, one of whom Hoover designated as his Press Secretary. From 1933 to 1939, even as he greatly expanded the scope of the federal government's policies and powers in response to the Great Depression, Roosevelt muddled through: his "brains trust" of top advisers, although working directly for the President, often were appointed to vacant positions in agencies and departments, whence they drew their salaries since the White House lacked statutory or budgetary authority to create new staff positions.

From 1939 through the present, the situation changed dramatically. New units within the EOP were created, some by statute, some by executive order of the president. Among the most important are the Council of Economic Advisers (1946), the National Security Council and its staff (1947), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (1963), the Council on Environmental Quality (1970), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (1976), the Office of Administration (1977), and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (1989). Under George W. Bush, additional units were added, such as the Office of Homeland Security (2001), which later became a cabinet department, and the Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives (2001). Precise estimates as to the size and budget of the EOP are difficult to come by. Many people who work on the staff are "detailed" from other federal departments and agencies, and budgetary expenses are often charged elsewhere, for example Defense Department staff for the White House Military Office. Ballpark estimates indicate some 2,000 to 2,500 persons serve in EOP staff positions with policy-making responsibilities, with a budget of $300 to $400 million (George W. Bush's budget request for Fiscal Year 2005 was for $341 million in support of 1,850 personnel).

Organization

Senior staff within the Executive Office of the President have the title Assistant to the President, second-level staff have the title Deputy Assistant to the President, and third-level staff have the title Special Assistant to the President.

Very few EOP (Executive Office of the President) officials are required to be confirmed by the Senate, although there are a handful of exceptions to this rule (e.g., the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chair and members of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the United States Trade Representative). The core White House Staff appointments do not require Senate approval. The staff of the Executive Office of the President is managed by the White House Chief of Staff.

Executive Office of the President

Office of the President

Counselor to the President

• Counselor to the President: Peter Rouse

Senior Advisor to the President

• Senior Advisor to the President: David Plouffe
• Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement: Valerie Jarrett

White House Office

• Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff: Jacob Lew
  • Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy: Nancy-Ann DeParle
  • Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations: Alyssa Mastromonaco

Office of the Vice President of the United States

• Assistant to the Vice President and Chief of Staff: Bruce Reed
  • Assistant to the Vice President and Deputy Chief of Staff: Alan Hoffman

Office of Management and Budget

• Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Jeffrey Zients (Acting)
  • Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Heather Higginbottom
  • Deputy Director for Management (Chief Performance Officer): Jeffrey Zients
  • Chief of Staff: Melissa Green
  • Executive Associate Director: Jeffrey Liebman

Council of Economic Advisers

• Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers: Alan B. Krueger

Council on Environmental Quality

• Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality: Nancy Sutley

National Security Council

• Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs: Thomas E. Donilon

Office of Administration

• Director of the Office of Administration: Beth Jones
  • Deputy Director for the Office of Administration:
  • Chief Financial Officer:
  • Chief Information Officer:
  • Chief Procurement and Contract Management Officer:
  • Director of Equal Employment Opportunity:
  • Director of Security and Emergency Preparedness:
  • General Counsel:

Office of Policy Development

National Economic Council

• Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the Economic Policy Council: Gene Sperling
  • Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy:
  • Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy:

Domestic Policy Council

• Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director of the Domestic Policy Council: Cecilia Muñoz
  • Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council: Mark Zuckerman
  • Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director for the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation:

Office of National Drug Control Policy

• Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy: Gil Kerlikowske
  • Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy: Dr. A. Thomas McLellan

Office of Science and Technology Policy

• Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy: Dr. John Holdren

Office of the Director

• Executive Assistant to the Director: Karrie Pitzer
  • Chief of Staff: Rick Siger

Technology

• Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Technology (Chief Technology Officer of the United States): Aneesh Chopra

Science

• Associate Director for Science: Dr. Carl Wieman

National Security and International Affairs

• Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs:

Environment and Energy

• Associate Director for Environment and Energy:

Budget and Administration

• Operations Manager: Stacy Murphy

President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

• Executive Director:

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)

• Executive Director:

National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development

• Director: George Strawn

Office of the United States Trade Representative

• United States Trade Representative: Ron Kirk
  • Deputy United States Trade Representative (Washington Office): Ambassador Demetrios Marantis
  • Deputy United States Trade Representative (Geneva Office): Ambassador Michael Punke
  • Deputy United States Trade Representative (Washington Office): Ambassador Miriam Sapiro
  • Chief Agricultural Negotiator: Ambassador Islam Siddiqui

External links

• WhiteHouse.gov
• Executive Office of the President
• Proposed and finalized federal regulations from the Executive Office of the President of the United States
• Executive Office of the President of the United States at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post