White House Chief of Staff

The chief of staff is not mentioned in the Constitution or created by any statute. Dwight Eisenhower, used to the military staff system, gave Sherman Adams the title assistant to the President in 1953 with authority over the rest of the White House staff, and the role has existed in some form in every administration since, though John Kennedy and Jimmy Carter initially tried to do without one and both reversed course. The appointment requires no Senate confirmation, and the chief serves entirely at the President's pleasure.

The chief of staff controls access to the President, deciding who gets meetings and which papers reach the Oval Office desk. The chief manages the West Wing staff, coordinates with the cabinet, negotiates with Congress, and often decides how and when the President's decisions are carried out. Effective chiefs, such as James Baker under Ronald Reagan and Leon Panetta under Bill Clinton, are credited with bringing order to administrations. Weak or overbearing ones have been blamed for chaos and scandal, and H. R. Haldeman, Richard Nixon's chief, went to prison over Watergate.

The job is famously grueling, and the average tenure is under three years. Susie Wiles, who took office in January 2025, is the first woman to hold the post. The chief's power depends entirely on the President's confidence, and presidents have used the role very differently, some as a powerful deputy, others as a scheduler among equals.