Download Presidential Bureaucracy

Presidential Bureaucracy
GOVT 2305, Module 13
White House Staff
The White House is the
administrative center of the
executive branch of American
national government. It contains
135 offices, including a chief of staff,
press secretary, speechwriter,
appointments secretary, national
security advisor, legislative liaison,
counselor to the president, and
various special assistants.
Denis McDonough is the current White
House chief of staff.
McDonough first began working with Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign
Role of the Staff
The White House staff gives
the president advice on
policy issues and politics,
screens key appointments,
manages press relations,
organizes the president’s
workday, and ensures that
the president's wishes are
carried out.
Josh Ernest, White House Press
Secretary
Selection of Staff
The president selects the
White House staff without
Senate confirmation. As with
most presidential appointees
(the exceptions are federal
judges and regulatory
commissioners), White House
staff members serve at the
president's pleasure. What do
you think that phrase means?
To serve at the president’s pleasure means
that the president can remove them at will.
Loyalty matters
The president selects staff
members based in large part
on their personal loyalty to
him. Frequently, a president’s
staff consists of the men and
women who help run his
political campaign.
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of choosing aides based on
loyalty?
The president can trust them to work on his
behalf. Nonetheless, they may lack the
knowledge and expertise to provide
effective assistance.
Executive Office
The Executive Office of the
President is the group of White
House offices and agencies
that develop and implement
the policies and programs of
the president.
Each of these agencies has a professional staff.
National Security Council (NSC)
The National Security Council (NSC) is
an agency in the Executive Office of the
President that advises the chief
executive on matters involving national
security. It includes the president, vice
president, secretaries of state and
defense, and other officials the
president may choose to include, such
as the national security advisor, the
head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the
director of the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA).
In short, the NSC assists with security
matters.
OMB
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is an
agency that assists the president in preparing the budget.
The OMB is an important instrument of presidential control
of the executive branch. It assists the president in
preparing the annual budget to be submitted to Congress,
screens bills drawn up by executive-branch departments
and agencies to ensure that they do not conflict with the
president's policy goals, monitors expenditures by
executive-branch departments, and evaluates regulations
proposed by executive agencies.
In short, the OMB assists with the budget and with management of the
executive branch.
Council of Economic Advisers
The Council of Economic
Advisers (CEA) is an
agency in the Executive
Office of the President
charged with offering the
president economic
advice.
In short, the CEA assists with economic
policy.
Delegation
An efficient, knowledgeable
White House staff is an important
element of presidential power.
Members of the staff not only
advise the president on policy
issues and political strategy, but
they often act on behalf of the
president in dealing with
Congress, members of the
executive-branch bureaucracy,
and the media.
Flawed Decision-making
President George W. Bush’s
decision to go to war against
Iraq was based on a flawed
decision-making process
within the administration.
Intelligence information was contradictory on whether Iraq was developing weapons of mass
destruction (WMD). The Bush administration accepted the arguments and evidence that
Saddam Hussein was developing WMD while rejecting counter evidence and arguments. The
result was the disaster of the war in Iraq.
What You Have Learned
 What is the White House staff? How are
its members chosen? On what criteria
are they chosen?
 What does it mean when we say an
official serves “at the president’s
pleasure?”
 What is the Executive Office of the
President?
 What is the NSC? What does it do?
 What is the OMB? What does it do?
 What is the CEA? What does it do?