White House Deputy Chief of Staff

White House Deputy Chief of Staff
White House Deputy Chief of Staff
	Incumbent; Anne Tomasini, Bruce Reed, and Natalie Quillian; since January 20, 2021
	Executive Office of the President; White House Office
Reports to	White House Chief of Staff
Appointer	President of the United States
Website	www.whitehouse.gov

The White House Deputy Chief of Staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the White House bureaucracy, as well as such other duties as the chief of staff assigns to them. In all recent administrations, there have been multiple deputy chiefs with different duties.

In the Biden administration, there are three current deputy chiefs of staff:

Anne Tomasini (Operations)
Bruce Reed (Policy)
Natalie Quillian (Implementation)

At least six deputy chiefs of staff were subsequently promoted to become chief of staff: Dick Cheney^[a], Ken Duberstein^[b], Andrew Card^[c], Erskine Bowles^[d], John Podesta^[e], and Joshua Bolten^[f].

List of White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff

Ford, Carter, Reagan & H.W. Bush Administrations

Ford Administration
- Dick Cheney, Deputy Chief of Staff^[1]
Carter Administration
- Landon Butler, Deputy Chief of Staff^[2]
- William G. Simpson, Deputy Chief of Staff^[2]
Reagan Administration
- Michael Deaver, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1981–1985
- Kenneth Duberstein, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1987–1988
- M. B. Oglesby Jr., Deputy Chief of Staff, 1988–1989
George H. W. Bush Administration
- Andrew Card, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1989–1992
- Henson Moore, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1992
- Robert Zoellick, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1992–1993

Clinton Administration

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
- Philip Lader, 1993–1994
- Erskine Bowles, 1994–1996
- Evelyn S. Lieberman, 1996
- John Podesta, 1997–1998
- Steve Ricchetti, 1998–2001
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
- Mark Gearan, 1993
- Roy Neel, 1993
- Harold M. Ickes, 1993–1996
- Sylvia Mathews Burwell, 1997–1998
- Maria Echaveste, 1998–2001

George W. Bush Administration

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
- Joe Hagin, 2001–2008
- Blake Gottesman, 2008–2009
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
- Joshua Bolten, 2001–2003
- Harriet Miers, 2003–2005
- Karl Rove, 2005–2007
- Joel Kaplan, 2006–2009

Obama Administration

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
- Jim Messina, 2009–2011
- Alyssa Mastromonaco, 2011–2014
- Anita Decker Breckenridge, 2014–2017
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
- Mona Sutphen, 2009–2011
- Nancy-Ann DeParle, 2011–2013
- Rob Nabors, 2013–2015
Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning
- Mark B. Childress, 2012–2014
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Implementation
- Kristie Canegallo, 2014–2017

First Trump Administration (2017–2021)

Principal Deputy Chief of Staff
- Kirstjen Nielsen, 2017^[3]^[4]
- Jim Carroll, 2017–2018
- Zachary Fuentes, 2018–2019^[5]
- Emma Doyle, 2019–2020^[6]^[7]
Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
- Joe Hagin, 2017–2018
- Dan Walsh, 2018–2019
- Anthony M. Ornato, 2019–2021
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
- Rick Dearborn, 2017–2018^[8]
- Chris Liddell, 2018–2021^[8]
Deputy Chief of Staff for Implementation
- Katie Walsh, 2017 (Implementation)^[9]
Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications
- Bill Shine, 2018–2019^[10]
- Dan Scavino, 2020–2021^[11]

Biden Administration

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
- Jen O'Malley Dillon, 2021–2024
- Anne Tomasini, 2024-present
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
- Bruce Reed, 2021–present
Deputy Chief of Staff for Implementation
- Natalie Quillian, 2023–present^[12]

In popular culture

In the NBC television drama The West Wing, the position of White House deputy chief of staff (for strategic planning) was held by Josh Lyman in the fictional Bartlet administration and Sam Seaborn in the fictional Santos administration.
Chad Lowe portrayed White House deputy chief of staff Reed Pollock, serving under White House chief of staff Tom Lennox and President Wayne Palmer on the television drama 24.
Adan Canto portrayed the White House deputy chief of staff before being promoted to White House chief of staff in the ABC political drama series Designated Survivor.
Kristen Connolly portrayed White House deputy chief of staff Christina Gallagher in House of Cards.

Notes

^ During the Gerald Ford Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.
^ During the Ronald Reagan Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.
^ During the George H.W. Bush Administration he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and during the George W. Bush Administration he served as Chief of Staff.
^ During the Bill Clinton Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.
^ During the Bill Clinton Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.
^ During the Bill Clinton Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.

References

^ "Richard Cheney as an Assistant to President Ford". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. August 26, 2002.
^ ^a ^b "REPORT 2021-20 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-24.
^ Restuccia, Andrew (July 29, 2017). "Kelly to bring DHS staffer to the White House". Politico.
^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces White House Appointments". whitehouse.gov. September 6, 2017 – via National Archives.
^ Cook, Nancy (June 6, 2018). "West Wing announces staff shuffle". Politico. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
^ Cook, Nancy (January 4, 2019). "Mulvaney eggs Trump on in shutdown fight". Politico. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
^ Cook, Nancy; Cancryn, Adam (January 11, 2019). "'Acting' in name only: Mulvaney staffs up West Wing". Politico. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Restuccia, Andrew; Johnson, Eliana (March 19, 2018). "Kelly taps Kushner ally Chris Liddell as deputy chief for policy". Politico.
^ Miller, Zeke J. (March 30, 2017). "White House Deputy Chief of Staff Leaves for Pro-Trump Group". time.com.
^ Klein, Betsy; Collins, Kaitlan; Acosta, Jim (8 March 2019). "Ex-Fox News executive Bill Shine out at the White House". CNN. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-14 – via National Archives.
^ Diamond, Jeremy (2023-02-08). "Natalie Quillian to serve as Biden's deputy chief of staff". CNN. Retrieved 2023-03-07.

[1] During the Gerald Ford Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.

[2] During the Ronald Reagan Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.

[3] During the George H.W. Bush Administration he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and during the George W. Bush Administration he served as Chief of Staff.

[4] During the Bill Clinton Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.

[5] During the Bill Clinton Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.

[6] During the Bill Clinton Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.

[7] "Richard Cheney as an Assistant to President Ford". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. August 26, 2002.

[whitehousetransitionproject.org-8] "REPORT 2021-20 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-24.

[9] Restuccia, Andrew (July 29, 2017). "Kelly to bring DHS staffer to the White House". Politico.

[10] "President Donald J. Trump Announces White House Appointments". whitehouse.gov. September 6, 2017 – via National Archives.

[11] Cook, Nancy (June 6, 2018). "West Wing announces staff shuffle". Politico. Retrieved June 19, 2018.

[12] Cook, Nancy (January 4, 2019). "Mulvaney eggs Trump on in shutdown fight". Politico. Retrieved January 12, 2019.

[13] Cook, Nancy; Cancryn, Adam (January 11, 2019). "'Acting' in name only: Mulvaney staffs up West Wing". Politico. Retrieved January 12, 2019.

[Liddell-appointed-14] Restuccia, Andrew; Johnson, Eliana (March 19, 2018). "Kelly taps Kushner ally Chris Liddell as deputy chief for policy". Politico.

[15] Miller, Zeke J. (March 30, 2017). "White House Deputy Chief of Staff Leaves for Pro-Trump Group". time.com.

[16] Klein, Betsy; Collins, Kaitlan; Acosta, Jim (8 March 2019). "Ex-Fox News executive Bill Shine out at the White House". CNN. Retrieved 2019-03-08.

[April21-17] "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-14 – via National Archives.

[Quillian-18] Diamond, Jeremy (2023-02-08). "Natalie Quillian to serve as Biden's deputy chief of staff". CNN. Retrieved 2023-03-07.

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