White House Political Director

White House Political Director
White House Political Director
	Incumbent; Emmy Ruiz; since January 20, 2021
	Executive Office of the President; White House Office
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	1978 (informally); 1981 (formally)
First holder	Tim Kraft (informally); Lyn Nofziger (formally)

The White House Political Director, formally the Director of the Office of Political Affairs (OPA) or Director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach (OPSO), is a political appointee of the President of the United States and a senior member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

History

The White House Office of Political Affairs was first formally established in 1981 during under Ronald Reagan, while Jimmy Carter was the first to designate a political director in 1978.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Subsequent administrations have rebranded the office. During his second term, President Obama renamed the office as the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, though the roles and responsibilities of the office and its director remained.^[5]

List


Image	Name	Start	End
	Tim Kraft	April 28, 1978	August 10, 1979	Jimmy Carter
	Sarah Weddington	August 10, 1979	January 20, 1981	Jimmy Carter
	Lyn Nofziger	January 20, 1981	January 22, 1982	Ronald Reagan
	Ed Rollins	January 22, 1982	October 1983
	Margaret Tutwiler Acting	July 23, 1984	February 5, 1985
	Bill Lacy	April 5, 1985	June 17, 1986
	Haley Barbour	June 17, 1986	March 16, 1987
	Frank Lavin	March 16, 1987	January 20, 1989
	James Wray	January 20, 1989	June 1, 1990	George H. W. Bush
	David Carney	June 1, 1990 Acting: June 1, 1990 – March 5, 1991	January 1992
	Ron Kaufman	January 1992	August 24, 1992
	Janet Mullins	August 24, 1992	January 20, 1993
	Rahm Emanuel	January 20, 1993	June 23, 1993	Bill Clinton
	Joan Baggett	June 23, 1993	December 1994
	Joe Velasquez Acting	December 1994	February 16, 1995
	Doug Sosnik	February 16, 1995	February 7, 1997
	Craig Smith	February 7, 1997	February 5, 1999
	Minyon Moore	February 5, 1999	January 20, 2001
	Ken Mehlman	January 20, 2001	May 23, 2003	George W. Bush
	Matt Schlapp	May 23, 2003	February 2005
	Sara Taylor	February 2005	May 31, 2007
	Jonathan Felts	May 31, 2007	January 20, 2009
	Patrick Gaspard	January 20, 2009	February 1, 2011	Barack Obama
Vacant		February 1, 2011	January 24, 2014
	David Simas	January 24, 2014	December 19, 2016
	Bill Stepien	January 20, 2017	December 7, 2018	Donald Trump
	Brian Jack	February 2, 2019	January 20, 2021	Donald Trump
	Emmy Ruiz	January 20, 2021	present	Joe Biden

Political and Intergovernmental Affairs

During the second term of the Reagan administration, there was a director of political and intergovernmental affairs who sat above the political director and intergovernmental affairs director.


Name	Start	End
Ed Rollins	February 5, 1985	October 1, 1985	Ronald Reagan
Mitch Daniels	October 1, 1985	March 1, 1987
Frank Donatelli	March 1, 1987	January 20, 1989

In popular culture

Paulo Costanzo portrays Lyor Boone, the fictional White House Political Director, in Designated Survivor, a political thriller television series.

References

^ Leonard, Barry (May 2009). Activities of the White House Office of Political Affairs. United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform. ISBN 978-1-4379-1063-6. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
^ Dunn Tenpas, Kathryn (October 2020). "The Office of Political Affairs" (PDF). White House Transition Project, University of Missouri Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
^ Dunn Tenpas, Kathryn (Spring 1996). "Presidential Elections: Past and Present – Institutionalized Politics: The White House Office of Political Affairs". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 26 (2): 511–522. JSTOR 27551595. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
^ "Investigation of Political Activities by White House and Federal Agency Officials during the 2006 Midterm Elections" (PDF). United States Office of Special Counsel. January 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
^ Gerstein, Josh (January 30, 2014). "New Politics Shop Sees Old Questions". Politico. Retrieved August 27, 2021.

[1] Leonard, Barry (May 2009). Activities of the White House Office of Political Affairs. United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform. ISBN 978-1-4379-1063-6. Retrieved September 10, 2021.

[2] Dunn Tenpas, Kathryn (October 2020). "The Office of Political Affairs" (PDF). White House Transition Project, University of Missouri Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy. Retrieved September 10, 2021.

[3] Dunn Tenpas, Kathryn (Spring 1996). "Presidential Elections: Past and Present – Institutionalized Politics: The White House Office of Political Affairs". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 26 (2): 511–522. JSTOR 27551595. Retrieved September 10, 2021.

[4] "Investigation of Political Activities by White House and Federal Agency Officials during the 2006 Midterm Elections" (PDF). United States Office of Special Counsel. January 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2021.

[5] Gerstein, Josh (January 30, 2014). "New Politics Shop Sees Old Questions". Politico. Retrieved August 27, 2021.

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