American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

312 CHAPTER 10|THE PRESIDENCY

THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

NUTS & bolts

Council of Economic Advisers Offi ce of National Drug Control Policy

Council on Environmental Quality Offi ce of Science and Technology Policy

National Security Council Offi ce of United States Trade Representative

Offi ce of Administration President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

Offi ce of Management and Budget White House Offi ce

White House Offi ce

Domestic Policy Council Offi ce of National AIDS Policy

Homeland Security Council Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

National Economic Council USA Freedom Corps

Offi ce of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives White House Fellows Offi ce

Offi ce of the First Lady White House Military Offi ce

10.3

and space for the president’s chief aide and personal secretary, as well as senior

aides such as the vice president, the president’s press secretary, and the chief of

staff , who coordinates White House operations. Many recent chiefs of staff have

been central in the development of policy proposals and negotiations with mem-

bers of Congress. However, the chief of staff serves as the agent of the president—

what matters is what the president wants, not a chief of staff ’s policy preferences.

Most EOP staff members are presidential appointees who retain their posi-

tions only as long as the president who appointed them remains in offi ce, though

some EOP offi ces—such as the Offi ce of Management and Budget, the Offi ce of

the United States Trade Representative, and the National Security Council—also

have a signifi cant number of permanent staff analysts and experts.^47 When the

president appoints people to EOP positions, his primary expectation of them is

loyalty rather than a concern for the general public or policy expertise.^48 The pres-

ident needs staff who understand what he wants the government to do and who

will dedicate themselves to implementing his vision.^49 However, the emphasis on

loyalty in presidential appointments also has an obvious drawback: appointees

may not know much about the jobs they are given and may not be very eff ective at

managing the agencies they are supposed to control. As we discuss in Chapter 11,

The Bureaucracy, many observers believe that delays in the provision of federal

disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina occurred partly because quite a few senior

positions in the Federal Emergency Management Agency were held by political

appointees who knew little about such operations.^50

The Vice President

As set out in the Constitution, the vice president’s job is to preside over Senate

proceedings. This largely ceremonial job is usually delegated to the president