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The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the
executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...
of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agencies, such as the
White House Office 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 ...
(the staff working directly for and reporting to the president, including West Wing staff and the president's closest advisers), the National Security Council, and the
Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
. The EOP is also referred to as a "permanent government", with many policy programs, and the people who implement them, continuing between presidential administrations. This is because there is a need for qualified, knowledgeable civil servants in each office or agency to inform new politicians. The civil servants who work in the Executive Office of the President are also regarded as nonpartisan and politically neutral, so that they can give impartial advice. With the increase in technological and global advancement, the size of the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...
staff has increased to include an array of policy experts to effectively address various fields. In 2015, there were about 1,800 positions in the EOP, most of which did not require
confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an wikt:affirmation, affirma ...
from the U.S. Senate. The EOP is overseen by the White House chief of staff. Since January 20, 2021, that position has been held by Ron Klain, who was appointed by President Joe Biden.


History

In 1937, the Brownlow Committee, which was a presidentially commissioned panel of
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
and
public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, Administration (government), administration of Government, government establishment (Governance#P ...
experts, recommended sweeping changes to the executive branch of the United States government, including the creation of the Executive Office of the President. Based on these recommendations, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 lobbied Congress to approve the Reorganization Act of 1939. The Act led to Reorganization Plan No. 1, which created the EOP, which reported directly to the president. The EOP encompassed two subunits at its outset: the
White House Office 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 ...
(WHO) and the Bureau of the Budget, the predecessor to today's
Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
, which had been created in 1921 and originally located in the Treasury Department. It absorbed most of the functions of the National Emergency Council. Initially, the new staff system appeared more ambitious on paper than in practice; the increase in the size of the staff was quite modest at the start. However, it laid the groundwork for the large and organizationally complex White House staff that would emerge during the presidencies of Roosevelt's successors. Roosevelt's efforts are also notable in contrast to those of his predecessors in office. During the 19th century, presidents had few staff resources.
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...
had one messenger and one secretary at his disposal, both of whose salaries were paid by the president personally. It was not until 1857 that Congress appropriated money ($2,500) for the hiring of one clerk. By Ulysses S. Grant's presidency (1869–1877), the staff had grown to three. By 1900, the White House staff included one "secretary to the president" (then the title of the president's chief aide), two assistant secretaries, two executive clerks, a stenographer, and seven other office personnel. Under Warren G. Harding, there were thirty-one staff, although most were clerical positions. During Herbert Hoover's presidency, two additional secretaries to the president were added by Congress, one of whom Hoover designated as his press secretary. From 1933 to 1939, as he greatly expanded the scope of the federal government's policies and powers in response to the Great Depression, Roosevelt relied on his "brain trust" of top advisers, who were often appointed to vacant positions in agencies and departments, from which they drew their salaries since the White House lacked statutory or budgetary authority to create new staff positions. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, in particular during the Eisenhower presidency, the staff was expanded and reorganized. Eisenhower, a former U.S. Army general, had been Supreme Allied Commander during the war, and reorganized the Executive Office to suit his leadership style. Today, the staff is much bigger. Estimates indicate some 3,000 to 4,000 persons serve in EOP staff positions with policy-making responsibilities, with a budget of $300 to $400 million (George W. Bush's budget request for Fiscal Year 2005 was for $341 million in support of 1,850 personnel). Some observers have noted a problem of control for the president due to the increase in staff and departments, making coordination and cooperation between the various departments of the Executive Office more difficult.


Organization

The president had the power to reorganize the Executive Office due to the 1949 Reorganization Act which gave the president considerable discretion, until 1983 when it was renewed due to President Reagan's administration allegedly encountering "disloyalty and obstruction". The chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office and can therefore ultimately decide what the president needs to deal with personally and what can be dealt with by other staff, in order to avoid wasting the time of the president. Senior staff within the Executive Office of the President have the title Assistant to the President, second-level staff have the title Deputy Assistant to the President, and third-level staff have the title Special Assistant to the President. The core White House staff appointments, and most Executive Office officials generally, are not required to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, although there are a handful of exceptions (e.g., the director of the
Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the United States Trade Representative). The information in the following table is current as of January 20, 2021. Only principal executives are listed; for subordinate officers, see individual office pages.


White House offices

The
White House Office 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 ...
(including its various offices listed below) is a sub-unit of the Executive Office of the President (EOP). The various agencies of the EOP are listed above. * Office of the Chief of Staff * Office of the
National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National secu ...
* Domestic Policy Council * National Economic Council * Office of Cabinet Affairs * Office of Digital Strategy *
White House Office of Communications 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 res ...
*
Office of the First Lady The Office of the First Lady (OFL) is the staff accountable to the first lady of the United States. The office and its responsibilities, while not constitutionally mandated, have grown as the role of the first lady has grown and formalized throug ...
*
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs is a unit of the White House Office, within the Executive Office of the President. It serves as the primary liaison between the White House and state, county (or county-equivalent), local, a ...
* Office of Legislative Affairs * Office of Management and Administration * Office of Political Affairs * Office of Public Engagement * Office of Presidential Personnel * Office of Scheduling and Advance * Office of the Staff Secretary *
Office of White House Counsel The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the ...
* Oval Office Operations * White House Fellows *
White House Military Office The White House Military Office (WHMO) is a department within the White House Office that provides military support for White House functions, including food service, presidential transportation, medical support, emergency medical services and ho ...


Congress

Congress as well as the president has some control over the Executive Office of the President. Some of this authority stems from its appropriation powers given by the Constitution, such as the "power of the purse", which affects the Office of Management and Budget and the funding of the rest of federal departments and agencies. Congress also has the right to investigate the operation of the Executive Office, normally holding hearings bringing forward individual personnel to testify before a congressional committee. The Executive Office often helps with legislation by filling in specific points understood and written by experts, as Congressional legislation sometimes starts in broad terms.


Budget history

This table specifies the budget of the Executive Office for the years 2008–2017, and the actual outlays for the years 1993–2007.


See also

* Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations * Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations * White House Records Office


Notes


References


External links


Executive Office of the President

The Debate Over Selected Presidential Assistants and Advisors: Appointment, Accountability, and Congressional Oversight
Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on ...

Proposed and finalized federal regulations from the Executive Office of the President of the United States
* * {{Authority control Presidency of the United States White House 1939 establishments in the United States