My buddy Rich Brewer passed along a very good book about the men who have officially been Chiefs of Staff for our Presidents. (I say “officially” because the book also mentions that First Ladies such as Nancy Reagan and Hillary Clinton played “unofficial” roles as their husband’s de facto Chief of Staff. It reminds me of the old saying that behind every successful man is a tired woman.)
The book describes the gentlemen who have served as The Chief of Staff (CoS) for every President starting with Nixon up through Obama. Dubbed the second most powerful job in any Administration, the CoS is the person who controls access to the President, coordinates with the Cabinet and Congress to set the President’s agenda and serves as an overall confidant and assistant to the President. (For an excellent review and recap of The Gatekeepers that will give you the highlights and some feel for what is discussed therein click here.)
Note too that The Gatekeepers was published shortly after Trump took over and upended all established norms and procedures with regards to everything including the role of his CoS. To date Trump has been through 3 CoS’s. Recall his criticizing Obama for having 3 CoS’s.
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| https://www.metro.us/president-trump/trump-criticized-obama-having-3-chiefs-staff-now-hes-his-third |
But back to The Gatekeepers. As I read about all the turmoil and events that the previous Gatekeepers had to deal with, it was like a huge American History lesson that I had lived through. Events such as Viet Nam, Watergate, the hostage crisis, Iran Contra, 9/11, Katrina, Sandy Hook, etc. are all discussed to the point that I found myself thinking “Man, I’ve lived through a lot of stuff.” And it ain’t over with yet! )Least I hope it’s not.) Here is a good interview with the author of Gatekeepers: