Counselor to the President

Counselor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office.

Counselor to the President
Incumbent Alina Habba (left) Peter Navarro (right) Stanley Woodward since January 20, 2025
Executive Office of the President White House Office
Reports to	President of the United States
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	January 20, 1969; 56 years ago (1969-01-20)
First holder	Arthur F. Burns
Website	The White House

The current officeholders are Alina Habba and Peter Navarro. The position should not be confused with that of White House counsel, who is an appointed chief legal advisor to the president and the White House.

History

The position was created during the administration of Richard Nixon, where it was assigned cabinet rank. It remained a cabinet-level position until 1993.^[1]

During Nixon's presidency, eight people held the position, with there sometimes being two or three concurrent incumbents.

During the presidency of Gerald Ford, the post was shared by longtime communications advisor Robert T. Hartmann and national security aide John O. Marsh, with former United States secretary of commerce Rogers Morton briefly joining them as a domestic policy advisor in early 1976.

The position was vacant during the Jimmy Carter administration, as Carter initially left many senior White House positions unfilled (such as White House chief of staff) and preferred a smaller corps of advisors.^[2]

Edwin Meese held the position during the first term of President Ronald Reagan, and was highly influential inside the White House. Meese, Chief of Staff James Baker and Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver were nicknamed "the troika" and considered the most influential advisors to the president.^[3] Meese became United States attorney general during Reagan's second term as president and the position was left vacant.

The position was left vacant in the first three years of President George H. W. Bush's term. In 1992, it was filled by Clayton Yeutter following his resignation as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

During the Bill Clinton administration, the post became much more focused on communications. Two of Clinton's counselors, David Gergen and Paul Begala, later became CNN political analysts.

During the administration of George W. Bush, the position oversaw the communications, media affairs, speechwriting, and press offices.^[4]

Under the Obama administration, the position was initially abolished and the duties of the office transferred to three senior advisors: David Axelrod,^[5][6] Pete Rouse,^[6][7] and Valerie Jarrett,^[8] who also held the title Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison.^[6] On January 6, 2011, President Obama appointed Rouse as counselor to the president where he was responsible for assisting the president and chief of staff with the day-to-day management of White House staff operations.^[9][10] John Podesta was the last person to hold the position before he left to join the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign of 2016 as chairman.^[11]

Soon after the 2016 election, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to name his campaign manager during the general election, Kellyanne Conway, to the position^[12] and his campaign CEO Steve Bannon as a senior counselor and chief strategist.^[13] With equivalent standing to the chief of staff and a portfolio that hewed closely to the pre-Clinton iteration of the position, Bannon was named to the Principals Committee of the National Security Council in a January 2017 executive order that also removed the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the committee.^[14] Following vociferous public opposition to the decision, Trump removed Bannon from the council in April 2017.^[15]

After Bannon's departure from the White House in August 2017, Johnny DeStefano was appointed to the job^[16] in February 2018, with responsibility for overseeing the offices of presidential personnel, political affairs, and public liaison.

In February 2020, it was announced that former White House communications director Hope Hicks would return to the White House Office in the role.^[17] In May 2020, White House staff secretary Derek Lyons was also given the title of counselor.^[18]

President Joe Biden named Steve Ricchetti, the chairman of his 2020 presidential campaign, as counselor to the president upon taking office.^[19] Jeffrey Zients was also given the title in his role as White House coronavirus response coordinator.^[20]

List of counselors to the president

Counselors to President Richard Nixon (1969–1974)

Counselor to the President Donald Rumsfeld confers with President Richard Nixon on the White House grounds.

All of President Nixon's counselors were members of his Cabinet during their respective tenures.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
		Arthur F. Burns (1904–1987)	January 20, 1969 – November 5, 1969	Republican
		Pat Moynihan (1927–2003)	November 5, 1969[21] – December 31, 1970[22]	Democratic
		Bryce Harlow (1916–1987)	November 5, 1969[21] – December 9, 1970[23]	Republican
		Robert Finch (1925–1995)	June 23, 1970[24] – December 15, 1972[25]
		Donald Rumsfeld (1932–2021)	December 11, 1970[26] – October 15, 1971[26]
		Anne Armstrong (1927–2008)	January 19, 1973 – August 9, 1974
		Dean Burch (1927–1991)	March 8, 1974[27] – August 9, 1974[28]
		Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)	May 29, 1974[29] – August 9, 1974[30]

Counselors to President Gerald Ford (1974–1977)

President Ford and Counselor Robert Hartmann looking over paperwork concerning the selection of a new vice president, 1974

All of President Ford's's counselors were members of his Cabinet during their respective tenures.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
		Anne Armstrong (1927–2008)	August 9, 1974 – December 18, 1974	Republican
		Dean Burch (1927–1991)	August 9, 1974[27] – December 31, 1974[28]
		Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)	August 9, 1974[29] – September 19, 1974[30]
		Robert T. Hartmann[31] (1917–2008)	August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977
		John Marsh (1926–2019)	August 9, 1974[32] – January 20, 1977[33]	Democratic
		Rogers Morton[34] (1914–1979)	February 2, 1976 – April 1, 1976	Republican

Counselors to President Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)

President Carter did not appoint any counselors during his tenure in the White House.

Counselor	Term of Office	Party
Vacant	January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981	n/a

Counselors to President Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)

President Reagan holds an oval office staff meeting on his first full day in office. Front left, Counselor to the President Edwin Meese.

"The Troika". From left to right: White House Chief of Staff James Baker, Counselor to the President Ed Meese and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver at the White House, December 2, 1981.

President Reagan only appointed a counselor during his first term in the White House.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
		Edwin Meese (born 1931)	January 20, 1981 – February 25, 1985	Republican
Vacant			February 25, 1985 – January 20, 1989

Counselors to President George H.W. Bush (1989–1993)

President Bush only appointed a counselor, who was a member of his Cabinet during the last 11 months of his single term in the White House. The position was vacant for the first 3 years of his presidency.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
Vacant			January 20, 1989 – February 1, 1992
		Clayton Yeutter (1930–2017)	February 1, 1992 – January 20, 1993	Republican

Counselors to President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

Bill Clinton announces the appointment of David Gergen as Counselor to the President, 1993

President Clinton did not appoint a counselor for the first 5 months of his first term. He was the first president in over 20 years whose counselors were not members of his Cabinet.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
Vacant			January 20, 1993 – May 29, 1993
		David Gergen (born 1942)	May 29, 1993 – June 10, 1994	Republican
Vacant			June 10, 1994 – July 17, 1994
		Mack McLarty (born 1946)	July 17, 1994[35] – June 30, 1998[36]	Democratic
		Bill Curry (born 1951)	February 21, 1995 – January 20, 1997
		Paul Begala (born 1961)	August 17, 1997[37] – March 10, 1999
		Ann Lewis (born 1937)	March 10, 1999 – January 20, 2001

Counselors to President George W. Bush (2001–2009)

Counselor to the President Karen Hughes and First Lady Laura Bush, June 28, 2002.

Counselor to the President Dan Bartlett delivering a briefing on President George W. Bush's State of the Union Message, February 3, 2005.

Counselor to the President Ed Gillespie (right) and Chief of Staff to the Vice President David Addington review a document, December 5, 2007.

President Bush did not appoint a counselor for the last 2+1⁄2 years of his first term. He continued predecessors footsteps to not include his counselors as members of his Cabinet.

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
		Karen Hughes (born 1956)	January 20, 2001 – July 8, 2002	none	Republican
Vacant			July 8, 2002 – January 5, 2005
		Dan Bartlett (born 1971)	January 5, 2005 – July 5, 2007	Strategic Communication & Policy	Republican
		Ed Gillespie (born 1961)	July 5, 2007 – January 20, 2009	Policy Development and Strategic Planning

Counselors to President Barack Obama (2009–2017)

Counselor to the President Pete Rouse, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Vice President Joe Biden talk with President Barack Obama, April 2, 2013.

Counselor to the President John Podesta meets with President Obama in the Oval Office, January 29, 2015.

President Obama did not appoint a counselor for the first 2 years of his first term and did not have one for the last 2 years of his second term. He continued predecessors' footsteps to not include his counselors as members of his Cabinet.

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
Vacant			January 20, 2009 – January 13, 2011
		Pete Rouse (born 1946)	January 13, 2011 – January 1, 2014	Legislative Affairs	Democratic
		John Podesta (born 1949)	January 1, 2014 – February 13, 2015	none
Vacant			February 13, 2015 – January 20, 2017

Counselors to President Donald Trump (2017–2021)

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway talks to reporters and answers questions outside the West Wing entrance of the White House.

Senior Counselor to the President Steve Bannon appears with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference.

President Trump was the first president since President Gerald Ford to have a counselor throughout the entirety of his tenure.

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
		Steve Bannon (born 1953)[38][39]	January 20, 2017 – August 18, 2017[40]	Political Strategy (as "Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor")	Republican
		Kellyanne Conway (born 1967)[38][39]	January 20, 2017 – August 31, 2020[41]	Political and Polling Strategy (as "Senior Counselor")
		Johnny DeStefano (born 1979)	February 9, 2018 – May 24, 2019[42][43]	Intergovernmental Affairs and Political Affairs
		Hope Hicks (born 1988)	March 9, 2020[44] – January 12, 2021[45][46]	Strategic Communications
		Derek Lyons	May 20, 2020[47] – January 20, 2021[48]	Domestic Policy

Counselors to President Joe Biden (2021–2025)

Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti (right) meets with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and President Joe Biden in the Oval Office, October 2021.

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
		Jeff Zients (born 1966)	January 20, 2021 – April 4, 2022	COVID Response Coordination	Democratic
		Steve Ricchetti (born c. 1957)	January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025	Legislative & Governmental Relations

Counselors to President Donald Trump (2025–present)

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
		Peter Navarro (born 1949)[39]	January 20, 2025 – present	Trade and Manufacturing (as "Senior Counselor")	Republican
		Alina Habba (born 1984)	January 20, 2025 – present
		Stanley Woodward[39]	January 20, 2025 – present	(as "Senior Counselor")

See also

• Senior Advisor to the President of the United States
• White House Counsel