The Office of the President

Homework:Assignment #7 for tomorrow

Chapter 12: WilsonAP Government and Politics

Consider:Why does the President often not rely on the Cabinet as much as people might think?

Presidential Staff•Has grown immensely in this century

▫Double-edged sword: The more growth, the less control

•Rule of propinquity – those who wield power are those in the room when the decision is made▫Advisors, staff, others are only influential in relation

to how close they can actually get to the president•Three main “arms” of presidential staff:

▫The Cabinet▫EoP▫WHO

•Correspond to three “degrees” of propinquity; in reverse order…

•What is “the cabinet”?•Created by the Constitution?

▫Where does it come from?▫How did it originate?

The President’s Cabinet

• What do presidents look for when making Cabinet appointments?▫Why might some of these factors lead to a “cabinet of

strangers”?

• Who approves these nominations?▫Are they likely to approve these nominations? Why?

Who’s in the Cabinet, generally?

Reagan: 33 total secretaries in 8 years• 3 Women (all white)1 Black Male 1 Hispanic

12% Minority rate

Bush I: 21 total in 4 years• 3 Women (all white)2 Hispanics (one carried over from Reagan) 23% Minority rate Clinton: 29 total secretaries in 8 years• 5 Women (3 W, 2 black) 3 Black men 3 Hispanics 1 Japanese

44% Minority rate Bush II: 34 total in 8 years• 5 women (4 W, 1 black) 3 Black men 3 Hispanics • 1 Japanese (same person as Clinton)

35% minority rate

Obama: 16 total in 4 years• 4 women (1 Latino) 1 Black man 1 Latino 3 Asians

56% minority rate

Diversity in the Cabinet?

•Have president’s relied heavily on their cabinet for advice?

•Which cabinet departments have more influence?▫Why?▫What do we call these?

•What factors might contribute to their “3rd degree” status?

The Role of the Cabinet

The Executive Office of the President• These agencies report directly to Prez, but not

located in the WH. ▫May or may not have intimate contact with him; some

are large bucy’s. ▫The top positions are prez appointments, but must be

confirmed by Senate• Overseen by the White House Chief of Staff, the EOP

has traditionally been home to many of the President’s closest advisors.▫Most important are: OMB, CIA, CEA, OPM, Trade Rep

Perhaps most important is OMB; responsible for not just developing the budget, but also studying and improving organization of executive branch

• What factors might contribute to their “2nd degree” status?

White House Office• Personal staff of president

▫Hired and fired by president; no Senate confirmation▫Located in West Wing…close proximity

• Difficult to know how many▫Consists of: Chief of staff, senior advisors

• 3 ways to organize▫Pyramid▫Circular▫Ad hoc

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

• What factors might contribute to the WHO’s “1st degree” status?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26iAyLLGLEs&feature=related

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop