Chief+of+Staff

Chief of Staff

Bill Daley was named the next White House Chief of Staff by President Barack Obama on January 6th, 2011. He officially took office on January 13th, 2011. Before becoming Chief of Staff, Bill Daley served as U.S. Secratary of Commerce under Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2000. He was a large supporter of President Obama throughout his campaign and has announced his commitment to putting President Obama through his re-election.

History The Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. His main responsibilities include overseeing the actions of the White House staff, managing the President's schedule, and deciding who is allowed to meet with the President. These duties were originally given to the President's Private Secretary because the position of Chief of Staff was not created until 1953. Before this, in 1946, the position of Assistant to the President was created because of the rapid growth of the Executive Branch. Under Dwight D. Eisenhower, the president's assistant was officially named Chief of Staff. Although it was an official position, presidents Kennedy and Johnson after Eisenhower still relied on Appointments Secretaries. The Chief of Staff was not fully relied on until the Nixon Administration. Most Chiefs of Staff serve for an average of 2.5 years and usually do not serve for an entire presidential administration. When they are finished serving their term, most Chiefs of Staff continue to work in important political positions. An example of this is President Obama's former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. After serving his term at the beginning of Barack Obama's presidency, he became and is currently the mayor of Chicago.

Roles

There are many different roles of the White House Chief of Staff. One is the role of selecting key White House staff and the responsibility of their supervision. Another role is being in charge of structuring the White House staff system. The Chief of Staff is also in charge of controlling the flow of people into the Oval Office. Other roles of the Chief of Staff include managing the flow of information, protecting the interests of the President, and negotiating with Congress.