The presidency as an institution 439or three years to escape the pressures of the job, the long hours, and the relatively
low government salaries.^24 Some EOP offices—such as the Office of Management
and Budget, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and the National
Security Council (NSC)—also have a significant number of permanent staff analysts
and experts.^25 The emphasis on loyalty in presidential appointments has obvious
drawbacks: appointees may not know much about the jobs they are given, and they
may not be very effective at managing the agencies they are supposed to control. For
example, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was given responsibility for American
efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, even
though his prior experience was as a real estate developer and he had never served in
government.
Trump’s EOP appointments are a departure from previous practice in several
respects. First, while all presidents must balance expertise and loyalty in their
appointments, Trump appears to have placed a very high weight on personal loyalty.
Second, Trump has appointed significantly fewer individuals to EOP positions,
keeping many positions empty even after two years in office. Third, turnover in
Trump’s EOP has been much higher than in previous administrations. Even so,
Trump’s emphasis on loyalty in making presidential appointments is similar to that
of his predecessors.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, in practice, usually delegated to the
president pro tempore of the Senate, who in turn typically gives the duty to a more
junior member. The vice president also has the power to cast tie-breaking votes in
the Senate. Mike Pence, for example, cast such a vote in 2017 to appoint Betsy DeVos
as secretary of education. The vice president’s other formal responsibility is to
become president if the current president dies, becomes incapacitated, resigns, or is
impeached. Of the 45 people who have become president, 9 were vice presidents who
became president in midterm.The president’s closest advisers
are chosen for their loyalty to the
president and his or her policy goals.
President Trump’s closest advisers
include his daughter Ivanka Trump and
his son-in-law, Jared Kushner (center),
who are seen here meeting with
Japanese prime minster Shinzō Abe.While many people perceive the vice
president’s position to be ceremonial
and relatively powerless, recently the
vice president’s role has expanded
significantly. President Trump’s vice
president, Mike Pence, serves as a
trusted policy adviser and directs
several initiatives such as the National
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