| Post: | Counselor to the President |
| Insignia: | US-WhiteHouse-Logo.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 175px |
| Incumbent: | Steve Ricchetti |
| Incumbentsince: | January 20, 2021 |
| Department: | Executive Office of the President White House Office |
| Appointer: | Joe Biden |
| Appointer Qualified: | as President of the United States |
| First: | Arthur F. Burns |
| Website: | The White House |
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 officeholder is Steve Ricchetti. 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.
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, eight people 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 advisors.[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 appointed to the job[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] In May 2020, White House staff secretary Derek Lyons was also given the title of counselor.[18]
President Joe Biden named Steve Ricchetti, the chairman of his 2020 presidential campaign, as counselor to the president upon taking office.[19] Jeffrey Zients was also given the title in his role as White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator.[20]
All of President Nixon's counselors were members of his Cabinet during their respective tenures.
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio--> | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur F. Burns (1904–1987) | January 20, 1969 – November 5, 1969 | Domestic Policy--> | Republican | ||
| Pat Moynihan (1927–2003) | November 5, 1969[21] – December 31, 1970[22] | Family Assistance Plan--> | Democratic | ||
| Bryce Harlow (1916–1987) | November 5, 1969 – December 9, 1970[23] | Legislative & Congressional Affairs--> | Republican | ||
| Robert Finch (1925–1995) | June 23, 1970[24] – December 15, 1972[25] | n/a--> | Republican | ||
| Donald Rumsfeld (1932–2021) | Economic Policy & Advisement--> | December 11, 1970[26] – October 15, 1971 | Republican | ||
| Anne Armstrong (1927–2008) | January 19, 1973 – August 9, 1974 | Women's Programs--> | Republican | ||
| Dean Burch (1927–1991) | March 8, 1974[27] – August 9, 1974[28] | n/a--> | Republican | ||
| Kenneth Rush (1910–1994) | May 29, 1974[29] – August 9, 1974[30] | Economic Policy--> | Republican | ||
All of President Ford's's counselors were members of his Cabinet during their respective tenures.
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio--> | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Armstrong (1927–2008) | August 9, 1974 – December 18, 1974 | Women's Programs--> | Republican | ||
| Dean Burch (1927–1991) | August 9, 1974 – December 31, 1974 | n/a--> | Republican | ||
| Kenneth Rush (1910–1994) | August 9, 1974 – September 19, 1974 | Economic Policy--> | Republican | ||
| Robert T. Hartmann[31] (1917–2008) | August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977 | Presidential Speeches, Statements, Messages & Correspondences--> | Republican | ||
| John Marsh (1926–2019) | August 9, 1974[32] – January 20, 1977[33] | n/a--> | Democratic | ||
| Rogers Morton[34] (1914–1979) | February 2, 1976 – April 1, 1976 | Domestic & Economic Policy--> | Republican | ||
President Carter did not appoint any counselors during his tenure in the White House.
President Reagan only appointed a counselor during his first term in the White House.
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio--> | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin Meese (born 1931) | January 20, 1981 – February 25, 1985 | Domestic Policy and National Security Council--> | Republican | ||
| Vacant | February 25, 1985 – January 20, 1989 | ||||
President Bush only appointed a counselor, who was a member of his Cabinet during the last 11 months of his single term in the White House. The position was vacant for the first 3 years of his presidency.
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio--> | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vacant | January 20, 1989 – February 1, 1992 | ||||
| Clayton Yeutter (1930–2017) | February 1, 1992 – January 20, 1993 | Domestic Policy--> | Republican | ||
President Clinton did not appoint a counselor for the first 5 months of his first term. He was the first president in over 20 years whose counselors were not members of his Cabinet.
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio--> | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vacant | January 20, 1993 – May 29, 1993 | ||||
| David Gergen (born 1942) | May 29, 1993 – June 10, 1994 | Foreign Affairs--> | Republican | ||
| Vacant | June 10, 1994 – July 17, 1994 | ||||
| Mack McLarty (born 1946) | July 17, 1994[35] – June 30, 1998[36] | National Economic Council Special Envoy to the Americas--> | Democratic | ||
| Bill Curry (born 1951) | February 21, 1995 – January 20, 1997 | Domestic Strategy--> | Democratic | ||
| Paul Begala (born 1961) | August 17, 1997[37] – March 10, 1999 | Policy, Politics and Communications--> | Democratic | ||
| Ann Lewis (born 1937) | March 10, 1999 – January 20, 2001 | Communications--> | Democratic | ||
President Bush did not appoint a counselor for the last 2 1/2 years of his first term. He continued predecessors footsteps to not include his counselors as members of his Cabinet.
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Hughes (born 1956) | January 20, 2001 – July 8, 2002 | none | Republican | ||
| Vacant | July 8, 2002 – January 5, 2005 | ||||
| Dan Bartlett (born 1971) | January 5, 2005 – July 5, 2007 | Strategic Communication & Policy | Republican | ||
| Ed Gillespie (born 1961) | July 5, 2007 – January 20, 2009 | Policy Development and Strategic Planning | Republican | ||
President Obama did not appoint a counselor for the first 2 years of his first term and did not have one for the last 2 years of his second term. He continued predecessors' footsteps to not include his counselors as members of his Cabinet.
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vacant | January 20, 2009 – January 13, 2011 | ||||
| Pete Rouse (born 1946) | January 13, 2011 – January 1, 2014 | Legislative Affairs | Democratic | ||
| John Podesta (born 1949) | January 1, 2014 – February 13, 2015 | none | Democratic | ||
| Vacant | February 13, 2015 – January 20, 2017 | ||||
President Trump was the first president since President Gerald Ford to have a counselor throughout all 4 years of his tenure.
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Bannon (born 1953) | January 20, 2017 – August 18, 2017[38] | Political Strategy (as "Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor") | Republican | |||
(born 1967)[39] [40] | January 20, 2017 – August 31, 2020[41] | Political and Polling Strategy (as "Senior Counselor") | Republican | |||
| Johnny DeStefano (born 1979) | February 9, 2018 – May 24, 2019[42] [43] | Intergovernmental Affairs and Political Affairs | Republican | |||
| Hope Hicks (born 1988) | March 9, 2020[44] – January 12, 2021[45] [46] | Strategic Communications | Republican | |||
| Derek Lyons | May 20, 2020[47] – January 20, 2021[48] | Domestic Policy | Republican | |||
| Counselor | Term of Office | Portfolio | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Zients (born 1966) | January 20, 2021 – April 4, 2022 | COVID Response Coordination | Democratic | |||
| Steve Ricchetti (born c. 1957) | January 20, 2021 – present | Legislative & Governmental Relations | Democratic | |||