Thursday February 6, 2014
• OBJ: SWBAT identify
the pros and cons of the
people who consult with
the President.
• Drill: Who is being
represented here?
What does this say
about the people who
influence the counsel
the President?
• HW: Read about the
cabinet, summarize how
a cabinet department is
formed. What type of
scenario today would
call for a new cabinet
The White House Staff
This group of advisors is composed of
personal aides and has grown in size and
importance since 1940. Composed of the
White House Chief of Staff, Communications
Director, Press Secretary, Deputy Chief of
Staff, legislative liaisons, pollsters, and
speech writers, this group is relied on more
than the Cabinet for advice and on policymaking decisions. They provide policy
options, analysis, negotiate agreements, write
presidential statements, control paperwork,
and mold legislative details. In addition,
staffers become background conduits for
information to the press and Congress.
Qualifications for these positions
include knowledge of how Washington works
(an insider), and a professional connection to
the president. Staffers have more contact
with the President and are very loyal to the
person. Much of this loyalty and proximity is
due to the fact that most White House Office
staffers had a preexisting personal friendship
or professional association with the
President. Because of this connection,
dynamic staffers have a tendency to become
isolated from the public and highly dependent
on the president for rewards and
employment. Finally, because of the proximity
to the president and the large number of
decisions to be made, the White House Staff
is expected to work 10 hours a day and
sometimes over100 hours a week.
The President is free to fire, hire and
admonish these advisors whenever he or she
desires. All of this takes place outside of the
public eye and is difficult to cover by the
press.
Positives
•Controls flow of paperwork—determines
what the president reads
•Washington insiders—understand how
the town works and know people
•Close proximity to President-easy
access to decision maker
•Hired/fired at President’s discretion
•Little press coverage
Negatives
•High rate of burn out
•Little press coverage
•Isolated from the public
•Loyalty can be blinding-leads to
scandals
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/westwing/index.html
The Executive Offices (EOP)
These offices, which were not
proscribed by the Constitution but created to
aid the executive in “carrying out the laws,”
have become an important part of the
President’s decision making coterie. These
offices, not located in the White House but in
the adjacent Executive Office Building, still
report directly to the President with information
regarding policy and politics. These offices
have become the prime policy makers in their
field and play key roles in advancing the
President’s policy preferences. The officials
that serve are almost entirely non-elected civil
servants and cannot be removed by the
president. The offices include:
The Office of Management and
Budget- This office prepares the presidential
budget, examines legislative proposals to
ensure continuity with the President’s
program, and evaluate congressional
proposals for economic impact. In addition,
the office provides reports on how to
reorganize various executive departments
Council of Economic AdvisorsPrepares for the President reviews of current
and proposed economic conditions, predicts
economic trends, and drafts the President’s
economic reports. In addition, the CEA
provides data for the President’s budget
proposals.
National Security Council- Includes
the President, Vice President, Secretary of
Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and
Joint Chiefs of Staff. The group coordinates
military and diplomatic aspects of the
President’s foreign policy program, helps to
manage crises, and monitors the
Positives
•Provide highly specialized policy info
(wonks)
•Only top heads must be approved by
Congress, rest of workers insulated from
politics
•Can provide advice less driven by
political considerations
Negatives
•Lack of proximity to Oval Office reduces
influence
•Nerd town USA
•Cannot be removed by the President
The Cabinet
The members of these offices are selected by the
President and confirmed by the United States Senate. Members tend
to be chosen for any or all of the following criteria: prestige,
managerial ability, interest group connections, geographic
representation, demographic representation, policy making stances.
In addition, the cabinet offices have over the years divided into inner
and outer cabinets. The inner cabinet includes State, Defense,
Treasury, and Attorney General, while the outer cabinets consume
the remaining offices listed below.
Generally, the President has little contact with the
cabinet heads, which spend most of their time managing their
respective executive departments. Cabinet heads are often exposed
to Congressional oversight of programs they manage, interest group
pressures for programs existing or desired, and tend to have loyalties
divided between their departments and competing political interests.
Cabinet meetings with the President tend to be routine and symbolic
affairs dominated less by policy making discussions than the ins and
outs of political maneuvering.
Composed of the following offices:
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State
Treasury
Defense
Justice
Interior
Agriculture
Commerce
Labor
Health and Human Services
Housing and Urban
Development
Transportation
Energy
Education
Veterans Affairs
Homeland Security
Positives
•Provide less political advice/not as loyal to
president
•Have huge influence on how the laws are
enforced
•Congress has oversight of the agency so they
cannot operate in a political vacuum
Negatives
•# 1 priority is to manage their agency and its
budget
•Loyalties divided between the President who
selected them and the mission of the agency
they run
•Distant from the White House; lack access to
decision maker
•Must go through White House Staff to
see/speak with President
•Visible and accessible to the press
Problem #1
It has been reported to the President
that his nomination for Secretary of Health,
and Human Services has come under
scrutiny for alleged failure to pay his
income taxes. A leak has informed the
White House that in tomorrow’s papers
articles will run that make these
allegations. Who should the
President call on to solve this problem?
Why?
Problem #2
Recent intelligence has shown an increase in troop
movements on the Indian-Pakistani border. With
the history of warfare between the nations, and
the presence of nuclear capability in both
nations, an alert has been raised. The White
House is faced with the decision about how to
handle the crisis and how to package the
problem to the public via the press.
Who should the President call on to solve this
problem? Why?
Problem #3
Recent attempts to capture Osama Bin
Laden have met with failure, and the
American public still has memories of
terrorist attacks in New York City, Saudi
Arabia, and Lebanon. There is a
determined feeling politically and
personally, that something should be done
to send a message to Bin Laden.
Who should the President call on to solve
this problem? Why?
Problem #4
The current Congress portends to be a
contentious one with the decision looming
over what to do with the economy, the
growing federal debt, and the failure of
large portions of the banking industry. The
opposing party, has proposed a large tax
cut and reduction of programs as the
solution for the current economic decline.
Who should the President call on to solve
this problem? Why?
Problem #5
The President was elected on a
platform that promised to alter the
nature of Health Care in the United
States. In order to reform the current
industry, legislation must be created
and defended on Capital Hill and in
the public.
Who should the President call on to
solve this problem? Why?
Problem #6
Russia, a nominal American ally is disappointed
that the United States is placing a missile
defense system in Poland (a country adjacent to
Russia, and that the US is placing pressure on
Iraq to end its nuclear energy program. Russia is
also limiting the delivery of oil and natural gas to
its former satellite state, and American friend,
Georgia. The United States desires to reduce
tensions with the Russians.
Who should the President call on to solve this
problem?
Problem #7
Presidential critics have charged the current
administration with risking the financial security
of the nation by dramatically increasing deficit
spending and the federal debt. The new budget
proposal from the administration calls for
increased spending combined with tax cuts—a
recipe critics say will cost the nation millions in
interest on loans needed to pay for the
programs. The administration wants to develop
support for its new budget proposal.
Who should the president call on to solve this
problem? Why?
Problem #8
The new administration has successfully
negotiated passage of is new stimulus bill.
They want to promote the bill and the
benefits it will provide for the nation.
Who should the president call on to promote
this plan? Why?