Senior Advisor to the President of the United States

Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. White House senior advisors are senior members of the White House Office. The title has been formally used since 1993.

Senior Advisors to the President
Incumbent Elon Musk & Massad Boulos
Executive Office of the President White House Office
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	January 20, 1993; 32 years ago (1993-01-20)
First holder	Rahm Emanuel
Website	The White House

Responsibilities

Over time, a senior advisor has had responsibility for the following groups:

White House departments (previously headed by a senior advisor in past administrations)

• White House Office of Strategic Initiatives
• Office of American Innovation
• White House Office of Political Affairs
• Oval Office Operations
• White House Office on Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation
• White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
• White House Office of Public Engagement
• White House Office of Communications
• White House Office of Press Operations
• American Rescue Plan / COVID-19 Relief
• White House Office of the Staff Secretary
• White House Office of Infrastructure Implementation Coordination

Prior administrations

In prior administrations before 1993, the position of "senior advisor" was a title used for various other purposes. Numerous examples of the position also exist throughout the executive departments and in the branch's independent agencies. For example, the Food and Drug Administration includes a position with the title Senior Advisor for Science; the Department of the Interior has a position with the title Senior Advisor for Alaskan Affairs.

Examples of people who had the responsibilities and/or influence of a senior advisor without the title included Edward M. House (to Woodrow Wilson) and Louis Howe (to Franklin D. Roosevelt)

List of senior advisors to the president

Senior advisors to President Bill Clinton

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Rahm Emanuel (born 1959)	Political Affairs Strategic Planning Policy	January 20, 1993 – November 7, 1998[1]	Democratic
		George Stephanopoulos (born 1961)	Strategic Planning Policy	June 7, 1993 – December 10, 1996[2]
		Sidney Blumenthal (born 1948)	Political Affairs Communications Policy	August 19, 1997 – January 20, 2001[3]
		Doug Sosnik (born 1959)	Political Affairs Strategic Planning Policy	November 7, 1998 – January 20, 2001[4]
		Joel Johnson (born 1961)	Communications Policy	May 20, 1999 – January 20, 2001[5]

Senior advisors to President George W. Bush

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Karl Rove (born 1950)	Political Affairs Strategic Planning Communications	January 20, 2001 – August 31, 2007[6]	Republican
		Barry Steven Jackson (born 1960)	Political Affairs Strategic Planning Communications	September 1, 2007 – January 20, 2009[7]

Senior advisors to President Barack Obama

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Valerie Jarrett (born 1956)	Public Engagement Intergovernmental Affairs	January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017[8]	Democratic
		Pete Rouse (born 1946)	Strategic Planning	January 20, 2009 – October 1, 2010[9]
		David Axelrod (born 1955)	Political Affairs Communications	January 20, 2009 – January 10, 2011[10]
		David Plouffe (born 1967)	Political Affairs Communications	January 10, 2011 – January 25, 2013[11]
		Daniel Pfeiffer (born 1975)	Political Affairs Communications	January 25, 2013 – March 6, 2015[12]
		Brian Deese (born 1978)	Climate and Energy[13]	February 13, 2015 – January 20, 2017[14]
		Shailagh Murray (born 1965)	Communications	April 3, 2015 – January 20, 2017[15]

Senior advisors to President Donald Trump

First presidency

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Jared Kushner (born 1981)	Strategic Planning[16][17]	January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021[18]	Republican[19]
		Stephen Miller (born 1985)	Policy	January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021[20]
		Kevin Hassett (born 1962)	Economic Issues	April 15, 2020 – July 1, 2020[21]
		Eric Herschmann (born 1962)	Opposition research[22] Legal issues[23]	August 3, 2020 – January 20, 2021[24]

Second presidency

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Elon Musk (born 1971)	Government Efficiency	January 20, 2025 – Incumbent[25]	Independent
		Massad Boulos (born 1971)	Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs	January 20, 2025 – Incumbent[26]	Republican

Senior advisors to President Joe Biden

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Cedric Richmond (born 1973)	Public Engagement[a]	January 20, 2021 – May 18, 2022[27]	Democratic
		Keisha Lance Bottoms (born 1970)		July 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023[28]
		Julie Rodriguez (born 1978)	Intergovernmental Affairs[b]	June 15, 2022 – May 16, 2023[29]
		Neera Tanden (born 1970)	Health care Policy[c] United States Digital Service	May 17, 2021 – May 26, 2023[30]
		Mitch Landrieu (born 1960)	Infrastructure Implementation Coordination	November 15, 2021 – January 8, 2024[31]
		Mike Donilon (born 1958)	Chief Strategist	January 20, 2021 – January 23, 2024[32]
		Anita Dunn (born 1958)	Communications	1st: Jan. 20 – August 12, 2021[33] 2nd: May 5, 2022 – July 31, 2024[34][35]
		Gene Sperling (born 1958)	COVID-19 Relief (American Rescue Plan)	March 15, 2021 – August 2024[36]
		John Podesta (born 1949)	Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation and International Climate Policy Advisor (effective January 31, 2024)	September 2, 2022 – January 20, 2025[37]
		Stephen K. Benjamin (born 1969)	Public Engagement[d]	April 1, 2023 – January 20, 2025[38]
		Tom Perez (born 1961)	Intergovernmental Affairs[e]	June 12, 2023 – January 20, 2025[39]
		Annie Tomasini	Deputy Chief of Staff[40]	June 2023 – January 20, 2025
		Ben LaBolt (born 1981)	Communications	August 8, 2024[41] – January 20, 2025
		Karine Jean-Pierre (born 1974)	Press Secretary	October 7, 2024 – January 20, 2025

List of advisors to the president

Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party	President
		Stephanie Cutter[n 1] (born 1968)	Message and Communications	January 2011 – September 2011[42]	Democratic	Barack Obama
		Ivanka Trump[n 2] (born 1981)	Women's Issues Workforce Development Entrepreneurship	March 29, 2017 – January 20, 2021[46][47][48]	Republican[19]	Donald Trump

See also

• United States portal
• Politics portal

• Counselor to the President
• Senior advisor

Notes

1. Concurrently served as the Director of the Office of Public Engagement
2. Concurrently served as the Director of the Intergovernmental Affairs Office
3. Concurrently served as White House Staff Secretary
4. Concurrently served as the Director of the Office of Public Engagement
5. Concurrently served as the Director of the Intergovernmental Affairs Office

Explanatory footnotes

1. Stephanie Cutter held the official title of "Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor" during her time in office.
2. President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump was sometimes called a 'Senior Advisor to the President' (or sometimes a 'senior advisor to the President', without the upper case 'S' and 'A') by unofficial sources,^[43][44] even though that was actually the title of her husband Jared Kushner, while her own title was 'Advisor to the President'.^[45]

References

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2. ABC News (September 18, 2014). "George's Biography". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019.
3. Matthews, Dylan (June 16, 2015). "Why Donald Trump brought up Sidney Blumenthal at the second debate". Vox. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019.
4. Authorities, Leading. "Doug Sosnik".
5. "Joel Johnson - Glover Park Group".
6. Rove, Karl. "Bio".
7. "Barry S. Jackson - American Australian Council".
8. "Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett". whitehouse.gov. December 24, 2014 – via National Archives.
9. Shear, Michael D.; Zeleny, Jeff (October 1, 2010). "Emanuel's Departure Set; Replacement Is Longtime Aide". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 17, 2019.
10. Axelrod, David (February 10, 2015). "David Axelrod Recounts His Years As Obama's Adviser And 'Believer'". NPR. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017.
11. "David Plouffe". whitehouse.gov. August 17, 2011 – via National Archives.
12. Tau, Byron (December 10, 2015). "Former White House Adviser Dan Pfeiffer Joins GoFundMe". The Wall Street Journal blogs.
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14. "Brian Deese". whitehouse.gov. November 16, 2011 – via National Archives.
15. "Senior Advisor Shailagh Murray". whitehouse.gov. January 29, 2016 – via National Archives.
16. Trump, Donald J. (March 27, 2017). "Presidential Memorandum on The White House Office of American Innovation". whitehouse.gov (Press release) – via National Archives. The Senior Advisor to the President.
17. "Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sean Spicer, #29". whitehouse.gov. March 27, 2017 – via National Archives. The effort will be led by Assistant to the President and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner.
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19. Ockerman, Emma (April 12, 2019). "Jared Kushner wasn't a Republican until 2018". Vice News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019.
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21. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Addition to White House Staff". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
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26. Swanson, Ian (December 1, 2024). "Tiffany Trump's father-in-law Massad Boulos to become senior presidential adviser on Arab affairs". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
27. Glueck, Katie; Martin, Jonathan (November 18, 2020). "Representative Cedric Richmond Set to be a Senior Biden Adviser". The New York Times.
28. "President Biden Announces Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as Senior Advisor for Public Engagement". The White House. June 15, 2022.
29. "President Biden Announces Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as Senior Advisor for Public Engagement". The White House. June 15, 2022.
30. Mason, Jeff (May 14, 2021). "Biden appoints Neera Tanden, former pick for budget director, as senior adviser". Reuters.
31. "President Biden Announces Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator". The White House. November 14, 2021.
32. Shear, Michael D. (November 18, 2020). "Mike Donilon, Who Helped Draft Biden's Message, is Named a Senior Adviser". The New York Times.
33. "Anita Dunn to join Biden White House as senior adviser". January 15, 2021.
34. "President Biden Announces Karine Jean-Pierre as White House Press Secretary". May 5, 2022.
35. Scherer, Michael (July 30, 2024). "Biden adviser Anita Dunn leaving White House to help pro-Harris super PAC". The Washington Post.
36. Tankersley, Jim (March 15, 2021). "Biden picks Gene Sperling, a Democratic policy aide, to oversee spending from the $1.9 trillion relief plan". The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
37. "President Biden announces senior clean energy and climate team". whitehouse.gov. September 2, 2022. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
38. "President Biden Announces ormer Mayor Stephen Benjamin as Senior Advisor and Director of the Offic of Public Engagement". whitehouse.gov. February 27, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
39. "Statement from President Joe Biden on Tom Perez". whitehouse.gov. June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
40. Superville, Darlene (February 8, 2024). "Biden chooses longtime aide who runs his Oval Office to be a deputy White House chief of staff". Associated Press. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
41. Mike Allen (August 8, 2024). "Ben LaBolt, Biden communications director, promoted to senior adviser". Axios.
42. "Stephanie Cutter - Former Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor". whitehouse.gov. January 11, 2011 – via National Archives.
43. Laura Beck (September 14, 2017). "Ivanka Trump, Senior Advisor to the President, Says It's "Unrealistic" to Expect Her to Influence Him". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved May 4, 2019. Ivanka Trump, senior advisor to the president, said that it's "unrealistic" to expect her to influence his decisions. That's not her job, OK?! (Even though it sort of is, actually?)
44. Catherine Lucey (February 26, 2018). "Ivanka Trump's dual roles as senior adviser, first daughter". AP news. Retrieved May 4, 2019. Ivanka Trump expects to be treated seriously as a senior White House adviser. ... "You're either a senior adviser or a daughter. ..." ... "Especially since she was last in the news as a senior adviser going to the Olympics." ... "she did choose to play this senior advisory role.")
45. "Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders". whitehouse.gov. December 18, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2019 – via National Archives. MS. SANDERS: ... the World Economic Forum ... delegation ... will also include ..., Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump, Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner, ...
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