The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been codified or officially defined, she figures prominently in the political and social life of the United States. The first lady of the United States is the hostess of the White House.
The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists of several offices and agencies, such as the White House Office, the National Security Council, Homeland Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, Council of Economic Advisers, and others. The Eisenhower Executive Office Building houses most staff.
The White House Chief of Staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a cabinet position in the federal government of the United States.
Melania Knauss Trump is a Slovenian and American former model who served as the First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States. She is the first naturalized citizen to become first lady, the second foreign-born first lady after Louisa Adams, and the second Catholic first lady after Jacqueline Kennedy. As her husband was re-elected in the 2024 presidential election, Trump is set to return to her role as first lady on January 20, 2025, following her husband's second inauguration. She will become the second first lady in history to serve two non-consecutive terms.
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.
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 United States Secret Service uses code names for U.S. presidents, first ladies, and other prominent persons and locations. The use of such names was originally for security purposes and dates to a time when sensitive electronic communications were not routinely encrypted; today, the names simply serve for purposes of brevity, clarity, and tradition. The Secret Service does not choose these names, however. The White House Communications Agency maintains a list that candidates choose from, often choosing ones that resonate with them personally.
The White House chief usher is the head of household staff and operations at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States of America. The position is currently held by Robert B. Downing.
The Office of the First Lady (OFL) is the staff accountable to the first lady of the United States. The office and its responsibilities, while not constitutionally mandated, have grown as the role of the first lady has grown and formalized through the history of the United States. The Office of the First Lady is an entity of the White House Office, part of the Executive Office of the President. It is located in the East Wing.
The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The staff work for and report directly to the president, including West Wing staff and the president's senior advisers. Almost all of the White House Office staff are political appointees of the president, do not require Senate confirmation and can be dismissed at the discretion of the president.
Frederick Joseph Ryan Jr. is an American media entrepreneur, political analyst, author and lawyer who served as the publisher and chief executive officer of The Washington Post from 2014 to 2023. He was the president and chief operating officer of Allbritton Communications Company and founding chief executive officer and president of Politico. He was the chief of staff for former President Ronald Reagan from 1989 to 1995 and is the chairman of the board of trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
The White House staff position of liaison to the American Jewish community is a role charged with serving as a presidential administration's voice to the community and gathering the community's consensus viewpoint on issues affecting it for the benefit of White House policymakers. It has existed at least as early as the Carter Administration.
Energy Czar, and also later Climate Czar, is a nickname, using the political term "czar", for the person in the government of the United States given authority over energy or climate policy within the executive branch. This has never been the official title of any office, but has often been informally used to refer to various officials since the 1970s.
The Staff Secretary is a position in the White House Office responsible for managing paper flow to the President and circulating documents among senior staff for comment. It has been referred to as "the nerve center of the White House." Specifically, the Office of the Staff Secretary decides which decision memos, briefing materials, lists of potential nominees, briefing books, intelligence reports, schedules, correspondence, and speech drafts end up on the president’s desk, as well as how and when the president will receive them. The Staff Secretary also works with senior White House staff to edit all of these materials and ensure they are ready for the president's consumption.
The presidential transition of George W. Bush took place following the 2000 United States presidential election. It started after Bush was declared the victor of the election on December 12, 2000, when the Bush v. Gore decision by the Supreme Court halted the election recount in Florida, making Bush the victor in that state. The decision delivered him the state's 25 electoral votes, thus giving him a total of 271 electoral votes. This was one more vote than the 270 needed to win the presidency outright, making him president-elect.
Susan Sher is a lawyer and strategist in the United States who works for the University of Chicago and served as the chief of staff for the First Lady under Michelle Obama during the first 2 years of the Obama administration. She served as corporate counsel for Chicago earlier in her career. She headed the Obama Library Committee.
The presidential transition of Joe Biden began on November 7, 2020, and ended on January 20, 2021. Unlike previous presidential transitions, which normally take place during the roughly 10-week period between the election in the first week of November and the inauguration on January 20, Biden's presidential transition was shortened somewhat because the General Services Administration under the outgoing first Trump administration did not recognize Biden as the "apparent winner" until November 23.
The presidential transition of Bill Clinton began when he won the United States presidential election on November 3, 1992, and became the president-elect. Clinton was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 14, 1992. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 6, 1993, and the transition ended when Clinton was inaugurated on January 20, 1993.
The presidential transition of Ronald Reagan began when he won the 1980 United States presidential election, becoming the president-elect, and ended when Reagan was inaugurated on January 20, 1981.
The presidential transition of Jimmy Carter began when he won the 1976 United States presidential election, becoming the president-elect, and ended when Carter was inaugurated on January 20, 1977. Carter had become president-elect once the election results became clear on November 3, 1976, the day after the election.
