White House Cabinet Secretary

This article is about the American Executive Office of the President (EOP) post. For the heads of the Executive Departments, usually styled "Secretary", see Cabinet of the United States.

White House Cabinet Secretary
Incumbent Lea Bardon since January 20, 2025
White House Office
Salary	$173,922 Annually [1]

The White House cabinet secretary is a high-ranking position within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. ^[2] The White House cabinet secretary is the head of the Office of Cabinet Affairs (OCA) within the White House Office ^[2] and the primary liaison between the president of the United States and the Cabinet departments and agencies. The position is usually held by a White House commissioned officer, ^[3] traditionally either a deputy assistant to the president or an assistant to the president. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

According to the White House website, the cabinet secretary helps "to coordinate policy and communications strategy" and plays "a critical role in managing the flow of information between the White House and the federal departments and in representing the interests of the Cabinet to the White House." ^[4]

The White House cabinet secretary is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the president; the position does not require Senate confirmation. The White House cabinet secretary is among the twenty-two highest paid positions in the White House. ^[7]

Current Appointees

• Special Assistant to the President and Director of Cabinet Affairs: Lea Bardon ^[8]
  • Associate Director of Policy: Thomas Bradbury ^[8]
  • Associate Director for Agency Outreach: Cami Connor ^[8]

List of cabinet secretaries

Image	Name	Start	End	President
	Max Rabb	October 1953	May 19, 1958		Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
	Bob Gray	May 19, 1958	January 20, 1961
	Fred Dutton	January 20, 1961	December 4, 1961		John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
	Unknown	December 4, 1961	November 22, 1963
	Horace Busby	November 22, 1963	September 15, 1965		Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
	Unknown	September 15, 1965	March 31, 1966
	Bob Kintner	March 31, 1966	June 14, 1967
	Unknown	June 14, 1967	January 20, 1969
	John Whitaker	January 20, 1969	November 4, 1969		Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
	Alexander Butterfield Acting	November 4, 1969	August 9, 1974
	Warren Rustand [9]	August 9, 1974	January 5, 1975		Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
	Jim Connor [10]	January 5, 1975	January 20, 1977
	Jack Watson [11]	January 20, 1977	June 11, 1980		Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
	Gene Eidenberg	June 11, 1980	January 20, 1981
	Craig Fuller	September 14, 1981	January 30, 1985		Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
	Alfred Kingon	January 30, 1985	February 18, 1987
	Nancy Risque	February 18, 1987	January 20, 1989
	Phillip Brady	January 20, 1989	June 26, 1989		George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
	Steve Danzansky	June 26, 1989	April 20, 1991
	Gary Blumenthal	June 10, 1991	September 10, 1992
	Daniel Casse	September 10, 1992	January 20, 1993
	Christine Varney	January 20, 1993	October 14, 1994		Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
	Kitty Higgins	January 26, 1995	February 7, 1997
	Thurgood Marshall Jr.	February 7, 1997	January 20, 2001
	Albert Hawkins	January 20, 2001	January 2003		George W. Bush (2001–2009)
	Brian Montgomery	January 2003	February 24, 2005
	Heidi Smith	February 24, 2005	2006
	Neal Burnham Acting	2006	August 9, 2006
	Ross Kyle	August 9, 2006 Acting: August 9, 2006 – November 3, 2006	January 20, 2009
	Chris Lu	January 20, 2009	January 25, 2013		Barack Obama (2009–2017)
	Danielle Gray	January 25, 2013	January 13, 2014
	Broderick Johnson	January 13, 2014	January 20, 2017
	Bill McGinley	January 20, 2017	July 19, 2019		Donald Trump (2017–2021)
	Matthew Flynn Acting	July 19, 2019	September 24, 2019
	Kristan King Nevins	September 24, 2019	January 20, 2021
	Evan Ryan	January 20, 2021	January 20, 2025		Joe Biden (2021–2025)
	Lea Bardon	January 20, 2025	present		Donald Trump (2025–present)

References

1. "White House Salaries". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved 13 August 2015– via National Archives.
2. "Executive Office of the President". The White House. The White House. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
3. Hennessey, Keith. "Working in the West Wing: Senior Staff". Keith Hennessey. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
4. "White House Author". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved 13 August 2015– via National Archives.
5. "White House Author". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved 13 August 2015– via National Archives.
6. "White House Author". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved 13 August 2015– via National Archives.
7. Korte, Gregory (July 1, 2014). "22 White House staffers make $172,200 a year". USA Today. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
9. "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum". www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
10. "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum". www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
11. "Jack H. Watson, Jr. Oral History". Miller Center. 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2021-06-29.