White House Deputy Chief of Staff

White House Deputy Chief of Staff
Incumbent Dan Scavino, Stephen Miller, James Blair, Taylor Budowich, Nicholas Luna, and William Harrison since January 20, 2025
Executive Office of the President White House Office
Reports to	White House Chief of Staff
Appointer	President of the United States
Website	www.whitehouse.gov

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.

In the second Trump administration, there are six deputy chiefs of staff: ^{[1] [2]}

• Dan Scavino, Deputy Chief of Staff
• Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
• James Blair, Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political and Public Affairs
• Taylor Budowich, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Personnel
• Nicholas F. Luna, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Implementation
• William "Beau" Harrison, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations

At least six deputy chiefs of staff were subsequently promoted to become chief of staff: Dick Cheney ^[a] , Ken Duberstein ^[b] , Andrew Card ^[c] , Erskine Bowles ^[d] , John Podesta ^[e] , and Joshua Bolten. ^[f]

List of White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff

Ford, Carter, Reagan & H.W. Bush Administrations

• Ford Administration
  • Dick Cheney, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1974-1975 ^[3]
• Carter Administration
  • Landon Butler, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1977-1981 ^[4]
  • William G. Simpson, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1979-1981 ^[4]
• Reagan Administration
  • Michael Deaver, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1981–1985
  • Kenneth Duberstein, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1987–1988
  • M. B. Oglesby Jr., Deputy Chief of Staff, 1988–1989
• George H. W. Bush Administration
  • Andrew Card, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1989–1992
  • Henson Moore, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1992
  • Robert Zoellick, Deputy Chief of Staff, 1992–1993

Clinton Administration

• Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
  • Philip Lader, 1993–1994
  • Erskine Bowles, 1994–1996
  • Evelyn S. Lieberman, 1996
  • John Podesta, 1997–1998
  • Steve Ricchetti, 1998–2001
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
  • Mark Gearan, 1993
  • Roy Neel, 1993
  • Harold M. Ickes, 1993–1996
  • Sylvia Mathews Burwell, 1997–1998
  • Maria Echaveste, 1998–2001

George W. Bush Administration

• Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
  • Joe Hagin, 2001–2008
  • Blake Gottesman, 2008–2009
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
  • Joshua Bolten, 2001–2003
  • Harriet Miers, 2003–2005
  • Karl Rove, 2005–2007
  • Joel Kaplan, 2006–2009

Obama Administration

• Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
  • Jim Messina, 2009–2011
  • Alyssa Mastromonaco, 2011–2014
  • Anita Decker Breckenridge, 2014–2017
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
  • Mona Sutphen, 2009–2011
  • Nancy-Ann DeParle, 2011–2013
  • Rob Nabors, 2013–2015
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning
  • Mark B. Childress, 2012–2014
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Implementation
  • Kristie Canegallo, 2014–2017

First Trump Administration (2017–2021)

• Principal Deputy Chief of Staff
  • Kirstjen Nielsen, 2017 ^{[5] [6]}
  • Jim Carroll, 2017–2018
  • Zachary Fuentes, 2018–2019 ^[7]
  • Emma Doyle, 2019–2020 ^{[8] [9]}
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
  • Joe Hagin, 2017–2018
  • Dan Walsh, 2018–2019
  • Anthony M. Ornato, 2019–2021
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
  • Rick Dearborn, 2017–2018 ^[10]
  • Chris Liddell, 2018–2021 ^[10]
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Implementation
  • Katie Walsh, 2017 (Implementation) ^[11]
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications
  • Bill Shine, 2018–2019 ^[12]
  • Dan Scavino, 2020–2021 ^[13]

Biden Administration (2021–2025)

• Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
  • Jen O'Malley Dillon, 2021–2024
  • Anne Tomasini, 2024–2025
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
  • Bruce Reed, 2021–2025
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Implementation
  • Natalie Quillian, 2023–2025 ^[14]

Second Trump Administration (2025–present)

• Deputy Chief of Staff
  • Dan Scavino, 2025-present ^[15]
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
  • Stephen Miller, 2025-present ^[15]
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political and Public Affairs
  • James Blair, 2025-present ^[15]
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Personnel
  • Taylor Budowich, 2025-present ^[15]
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Implementation
  • Nicholas F. Luna, 2025-present ^[16]
• Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
  • William "Beau" Harrison, 2025-present ^[17]

In popular culture

• In the NBC television drama The West Wing , the position of White House deputy chief of staff (for strategic planning) was held by Josh Lyman in the fictional Bartlet administration and Sam Seaborn in the fictional Santos administration.
• Chad Lowe portrayed White House deputy chief of staff Reed Pollock, serving under White House chief of staff Tom Lennox and President Wayne Palmer on the television drama 24 .
• Adan Canto portrayed the White House deputy chief of staff before being promoted to White House chief of staff in the ABC political drama series Designated Survivor.
• Kristen Connolly portrayed White House deputy chief of staff Christina Gallagher in House of Cards .

Notes

1. During the Gerald Ford Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.
2. During the Ronald Reagan Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.
3. During the George H.W. Bush Administration he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and during the George W. Bush Administration he served as Chief of Staff.
4. During the Bill Clinton Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.
5. During the Bill Clinton Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.
6. During the George W. Bush Administration, promoted from Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief of Staff.

References

1. "Trump-Vance Transition Press Release - President Trump Announces White House Senior Staff". The American Presidency Project. November 13, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
2. "Trump adds 4 to White House team". Politico.com. January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
3. "Richard Cheney as an Assistant to President Ford". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. August 26, 2002.
4. "REPORT 2021-20 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-24.
5. Restuccia, Andrew (July 29, 2017). "Kelly to bring DHS staffer to the White House". Politico.
6. "President Donald J. Trump Announces White House Appointments". whitehouse.gov . September 6, 2017 – via National Archives.
7. Cook, Nancy (June 6, 2018). "West Wing announces staff shuffle". Politico . Retrieved June 19, 2018.
8. Cook, Nancy (January 4, 2019). "Mulvaney eggs Trump on in shutdown fight". Politico . Retrieved January 12, 2019.
9. Cook, Nancy; Cancryn, Adam (January 11, 2019). "'Acting' in name only: Mulvaney staffs up West Wing". Politico . Retrieved January 12, 2019.
10. Restuccia, Andrew; Johnson, Eliana (March 19, 2018). "Kelly taps Kushner ally Chris Liddell as deputy chief for policy". Politico.
11. Miller, Zeke J. (March 30, 2017). "White House Deputy Chief of Staff Leaves for Pro-Trump Group". Time .
12. Klein, Betsy; Collins, Kaitlan; Acosta, Jim (8 March 2019). "Ex-Fox News executive Bill Shine out at the White House". CNN. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
13. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved 2020-10-14– via National Archives.
14. Diamond, Jeremy (2023-02-08). "Natalie Quillian to serve as Biden's deputy chief of staff". CNN. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
15. Ordoñez, Franco (13 November 2024). "Stephen Miller will be Trump's homeland security advisor in new White House role". NPR . Retrieved 13 November 2024.
16. "Trump adds 4 to White House team". Politico.com. January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
17. "Trump adds 4 to White House team". Politico.com. January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2025.