Briefing - Executive Office Of The President (EXOP) – K

Shapiro
In 1937, a committee headed by the academic Louis Brownlow reported that 'the
president needs help'. Administrative support was needed to coordinate a massive
expansion of federal activity following the start of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's
New Deal. The findings of the Brownlow report led to the creation of the executive
office of the president (EXOP) in 1939, designed to serve and support the president
in his work.
Structure and role of the EXOP
One way to understand the internal structure of the EXOP is to see it as a group of
offices or agencies.
White House Office
The leading office in the EXOP is the White House Office. This is made up of the
president's closest advisors. The work of this group is depicted in the popular
television series, The West Wing. White House staff change with each
administration and their role includes writing speeches, media strategy, liaising
with Congress, and giving legal and political advice. They are also responsible for
acting as a communication channel to the president, deciding what he needs to
deal with personally. Some presidents, such as Bill Clinton, were regarded as
highly accessible within this structure, others, such as George W. Bush, preferred
to give direct access to a smaller group of advisors.
President Obama's personal secretary, Katie Johnson, is one of many staff who
support him in his role.
Other EXOP offices
The other offices within the EXOP essentially act as inner-cabinet agencies, which
the president uses for advice regarding specific policy areas (see Table 1). The
number and nature of these EXOP agencies may vary over time. While some have
endured (e.g. Office of the Management of Budget), others have been disbanded as
they prove to be less useful to a president (e.g. Council on Wage and Price
Stability). The creation of a new agency within the EXOP can also signify a
prioritisation of a particular issue; Obama issued an executive order to establish
the White House Office of Health Reform in April 2009, only a few months after his
inauguration.

Name Role
Council of Economic The Council of Economic Advisors is a group of three economists who
Advisors and help the president on economic matters. It has been argued that this
National Economic office has declined in importance following the creation of the
Council National Economic Council (NEC) under Clinton. The main functions
of the NEC are to ensure that policy proposals are consistent with the
president's economic goals, to monitor the implementation of the
president's economic policy agenda and to coordinate economic
policy advice for the president.
National Security Council This coordinates foreign and domestic national security policy. There
has historically been conflict between the secretary of state and the
president's national security advisor (NSA), e.g. Henry Kissinger,
NSA to Nixon essentially ignored William Rodger, the secretary of
state. The current NSA is retired general James Jones.
Office of the Management This organises the budget and checks departmental and agency
of Budget spending. A key player in budget battles, it is vital in setting the
national agenda.

Chief of staff
The EXOP now comprises approximately 1,500 staff. The president's chief of staff
heads the entire organisation, a role currently held by William Daley who was
appointed in January 2011.
Tensions between the cabinet and the EXOP
Over the years, the cabinet's role has been overshadowed by the EXOP. A number
of reasons may explain this:
First, there is the issue of geographic proximity. Whereas the EXOP is located in
the White House, making these officials easily
accessible to the president, cabinet members may have their offices over 10
minutes away and feel more distant from the hub of presidential activity.
Second, members of the cabinet have to manage their departments while dealing
with the demands of Congress which determines their budget — pressures that
EXOP staff avoid. Evidence of the importance of EXOP members under the Obama
administration compared to their cabinet counterparts has been reported in the
press. For example, an article in the New York Times ('Obama's economic circle
keeps tensions high', 8 June 2009) describes the influence wielded by Larry
Summers, the former director of the National Economic Council and how this had
led to tensions between him and the Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner.
Criticism of Obama's appointments to the White House Office
While Obama's approval ratings fell in 2010, the criticism of his White House team
also grew. Journalists and even some high-level Democrat Party activists (e.g.
Doug Wilder, the USA's first elected black governor) have publicly argued that
Obama's West Wing is inexperienced at governing at the executive level and filled
with people who are in their jobs because of their Chicago connections or because
they signed on early during his presidential campaign.
According to the Washington Post's excellent Head Count database (
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2009/federal-appointments ), which
regularly updates and tracks federal appointments, out of the 39 top positions in
the White House Office, 22 are taken by people involved in Obama's presidential
campaign or transition team. However, this situation is not unusual and echoes the
makeup of the White House Office of previous presidents, such as Carter and his
popularly tagged 'Georgia mafia'. Indeed, the unique feature of the EXOP is that
unlike the cabinet, the vast majority of staff do not require Senate approval. The
fact that a president can use his powers to appoint exactly who he likes to these
trusted positions makes familiarity in a highly challenging political setting an
appealing option.