Susan Dryden Whitson is an American former White House official who served as press secretary and chief communications advisor to first lady of the United States, Laura Bush from 2005 to March 2007. [1] [2] [3]
Prior to working at the White House, Whitson was the Deputy Communications Director for the George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign and the spokesperson for the President and Mrs. Bush's twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna Bush. She served as the Chief of the National Press Office for the FBI and as the Deputy Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the US Department of Justice. [4] From 1997 to 2001, Whitson served as a press secretary for Rep. Bob Riley (R-AL), the former governor of Alabama, and Rep. Bill McCollum (R-FL) on Capitol Hill. Whitson was a high school English teacher at Hoover High School in Birmingham, Alabama from 1991 to 1997. She graduated from Auburn University in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in secondary language arts education. [5]
During the attacks of September 11th, Whitson was flying from Washington to Milwaukee with Attorney General John Ashcroft. [6]
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
Margaret DeBardeleben Tutwiler is an American politician who has served multiple different positions within the United States Department of State.
Alberto R. Gonzales is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive government to date. He was the first Hispanic person to serve as White House Counsel. Earlier he had been Bush's General Counsel during the latter's governorship of Texas. Gonzales had also served as Secretary of State of Texas and then as a Texas Supreme Court Justice.
The White House communications director or White House director of communications, also known officially as Assistant to the President for Communications, is part of the senior staff of the president of the United States. The officeholder is responsible for developing and promoting the agenda of the president and leading its media campaign.
Dana Marie Perino is an American political commentator and author who served as the 26th White House Press Secretary, under President George W. Bush from September 14, 2007, to January 20, 2009. She was the second female White House Press Secretary, after Dee Dee Myers, who served during the Clinton Administration.
Tevi David Troy is a best-selling presidential historian and the former United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services during the Presidency of George W. Bush. He also served as a senior White House aide in the George W. Bush administration from March 2005 to July 2007. Troy founded the American Health Policy Institute and served as its CEO from 2014 to 2018. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
On December 26, 2006, Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, died at home in Rancho Mirage, California at 6:45 p.m. local time. At 8:49 p.m. local time, President Ford's wife of 58 years, Betty Ford, issued a statement that confirmed his death: "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age. His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country." The causes of death listed on the subsequent death certificate were arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis.
John Timothy Griffin is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 20th lieutenant governor of Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas between 2006 and 2007 and U.S. Representative for Arkansas's 2nd congressional district from 2011 to 2015. Griffin defeated Democrat John Burkhalter in 2014 and has served under Governor Asa Hutchinson since holding the lieutenant governorship. In summer 2020, Griffin announced his candidacy for the 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election, but withdrew from the race in February 2021 to run for Arkansas Attorney General instead.
Gordon Johndroe is the Managing Director of Communications at American Airlines, a role he assumed in July 2022. Gordon served as Vice President of Global Media Relations and Public Affairs at The Boeing Company until 2021. He joined Boeing in November 2014 to lead communications strategies associated with advocacy for the company's products and businesses, as well as issues management and outreach to the Washington, D.C. news media and related constituencies. Johndroe was promoted several times at Boeing and eventually took over global communications leadership in 2020. Johndroe previously worked at Lockheed Martin from 2013-2014 as Vice President for Worldwide Media Relations. He served as chief spokesperson for the corporation, counseled senior leaders on media engagements and oversaw Lockheed Martin’s media relations campaigns and strategies.
A detailed chronology of events in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy.
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. Aside from Cabinet secretaries and Supreme Court justices, whose nominations require the approval of the Senate, the President of the United States has the authority to appoint people to high-level positions within the federal government unilaterally.
Charlene "Charlie" Fern is an American speechwriter, business owner, public speaker and journalist who served as First Lady Laura Bush's speechwriter for six years, first in the Texas Governor's Office, then at the White House, through October 2002. Fern's speeches included the first Presidential radio address delivered by a U.S. First Lady, in November 2001, and a May 2002 Radio Free Afghanistan address, following the September 11 attacks. She also wrote for President George W. Bush.
Robert Lane Gibbs is an American communication professional who served as executive vice president and global chief communications officer of McDonald's from 2015 to 2019 and as the 27th White House Press Secretary from 2009 to 2011.
Karl Christian Rove is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 31, 2007. He has also headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives.
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.
The President's Surveillance Program (PSP) is a collection of secret intelligence activities authorized by the President of the United States George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks in 2001 as part of the War on Terrorism. Information collected under this program was protected within a Sensitive Compartmented Information security compartment codenamed STELLARWIND.
Jennifer Rene Psaki is an American political advisor who served the administration of Joe Biden as the 34th White House press secretary during 2021 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Obama administration as the White House deputy press secretary (2009); the White House deputy communications director (2009–2011); the spokesperson for the United States Department of State (2013–2015); and the White House communications director (2015–2017). Psaki was a political contributor for CNN from 2017 to 2020.
Bill Burton is an American political consultant and communication strategist who served as Deputy White House Press Secretary in the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2011.
The 2018 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Alabama. Incumbent Republican Governor Kay Ivey, who took office on April 10, 2017, upon the resignation of Governor Robert Bentley, ran for election to a full term and won over Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox. Ivey was sworn into office on January 14, 2019.
The presidential transition of George W. Bush took place following the 2000 United States presidential election. It started after he 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.