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Secretary to the President of the United States

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Abraham Lincoln and his secretaries John G. Nicolay and John Hay photographed by Alexander Gardner on November 8, 1863 in Washington, D.C.

The secretary to the president is a long-standing position in the United States government, known by many different titles during its history. In terms of rank, it was a precursor to the modern White House chief of staff until the creation of that position in 1946.

In the 19th- and early 20th-century it was a White House position that carried out all the tasks now spread throughout the modern White House Office. The Secretary would act as a buffer between the president and the public, keeping the president's schedules and appointments, managing his correspondence, managing the staff, communicating to the press as well as being a close aide and advisor to the president in a manner that often required great skill and discretion.

During the mid 20th century, the position became known as the "appointments secretary", the person who was the guardian of the president's time. He had the responsibility of acting as "gatekeeper" and decided who got to meet with him.

The modern-day position of the president's secretary is fulfilled by an administrative assistant or personal assistant in the White House Office Oval Office Operations department who has a desk directly outside the Oval Office.

History

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During the nineteenth century, presidents had few staff resources. Thomas Jefferson had one messenger and one secretary (referred to as an amanuensis in the common parlance of the time) at his disposal, both of whose salaries were paid by the president personally. In fact, all presidents up to James Buchanan paid the salaries of their private secretaries out of their own pockets; these roles were usually fulfilled by their relatives, most often their sons or nephews. James K. Polk notably had his wife take the role.

It was during Buchanan's term at the White House in 1857 that the United States Congress created a definite office named the "Private Secretary at the White House" and appropriated for its incumbent a salary of $2,500. The first man to hold such office officially and to be paid by the government instead of by the president, was Buchanan's nephew J. B. Henry.[1] By Ulysses S. Grant's presidency, the White House staff had grown to three.[2]

By 1900, the office had grown in such stature that Congress elevated the position to "Secretary to the President", in addition to including on the White House staff two assistant secretaries, two executive clerks, a stenographer, and seven other office personnel. The first man to hold the office of Secretary to the President was John Addison Porter whose failing health meant he was soon succeeded by George B. Cortelyou.[1] Radio and the advent of media coverage soon meant that Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson too expanded the duties of their respective secretaries to dealing with reporters and giving daily press briefings.[3]

At the time of its peak the Secretary to the President was a much admired government office held by men of high ability and considered as worthy as a cabinet rank;[4] it even merited an oath of office.[5] Three private secretaries were later appointed to the Cabinet: George B. Cortelyou, John Hay and Daniel S. Lamont.

Under Warren G. Harding, the size of the staff expanded to thirty-one, although most were clerical positions. During Herbert Hoover's presidency however, he tripled the staff adding two additional private secretaries (at a salary of $10,000[6] each – increased from $7,200[7]) added by Congress. The first Hoover designated his Legislative Secretary (the senior Secretary now informally referred to by the press as the president's "No.1 Secretary"[8] ), the second his Confidential Secretary, and the third his Appointments and Press Secretary.[9]

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt converted Hoover's two extra secretaries into the permanent White House Press Secretary and Appointments Secretary, but from 1933 to 1939, as he greatly expanded the scope of the federal government's policies and powers in response to the Great Depression, Roosevelt relied on his "Brain Trust" of top advisers. Although working directly for the president, they were often appointed to vacant positions in agencies and departments, from whence they drew their salaries since the White House lacked statutory or budgetary authority to create new staff positions. It wasn't until 1939, during Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term in office, that the foundations of the modern White House staff were created using a formal structure. Roosevelt was able to get Congress to approve the creation of the Executive Office of the President reporting directly to the president, which included the White House Office. As a consequence, the office of Secretary to the President was greatly diminished in stature (mostly due to the lack of a sufficient replacement to Roosevelt's confidant Louis McHenry Howe who had died in 1936) and had many of its duties supplanted by the Appointments Secretary.

The appointments secretary was the guardian of the president's time. He had the responsibility of acting as "gatekeeper" and decided who got to meet with him.

Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Arthur H. Vandenberg Jr. to the position, but he took a leave of absence before Eisenhower's inauguration and later withdrew without ever having served.

In 1946, in response to the rapid growth of the U.S. government's executive branch, the position of Assistant to the President of the United States was established, and charged with the affairs of the White House. Together with the Appointments Secretary the two took responsibility of most of the president's affairs and at this point the Secretary to the President was charged with nothing other than managing the president's official correspondence before the office was discontinued at the close of the Truman administration.

In 1961, under Republican President Eisenhower, the president's pre-eminent assistant was designated the White House Chief of Staff. Assistant to the President became a rank generally shared by the Chief of Staff with such senior aides as Deputy Chiefs of Staff, the White House Counsel, the White House Press Secretary, and others. This new system didn't catch on straight away. Democrats Kennedy and Johnson still relied on their appointments secretaries instead and it was not until the Nixon administration that the Chief of Staff became a permanent fixture in the White House, and the appointments secretary was reduced to only functional importance. The Appointments Secretary position was eliminated in 1981, with the responsibilities transferred to the recently created White House Deputy Chief of Staff position.

The prior role of Secretary to the President should not be confused with the modern president's personal secretary who is officially an administrative assistant in the Executive Office of the President. The role of personal secretary to the president should also not be confused with the personal aide to the president (commonly known as the "body man" or "body woman").

List of presidential secretaries

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Private Secretary

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Name Start End President
William Jackson[a] April 30, 1789 1791 George Washington
(1789–1797)
Tobias Lear[b] April 30, 1789 1793
1794 March 4, 1797
William Shaw March 4, 1797 March 4, 1801 John Adams
(1797–1801)
Meriwether Lewis March 4, 1801 June 1803 Thomas Jefferson
(1801–1809)
Lewis Harvie June 1803 March 1804
William Burwell March 1804 1805
Isaac Coles 1805 March 4, 1809
Edward Coles January 1810 March 1815 James Madison
(1809–1817)
John Todd 1816 March 4, 1817
Joseph Monroe March 4, 1817 1820 James Monroe
(1817–1825)
Samuel Gouverneur 1820 March 4, 1825
John Adams March 4, 1825 March 4, 1829 John Quincy Adams
(1825–1829)
Andrew Donelson March 4, 1829 1831 Andrew Jackson
(1829–1837)
Nicholas Trist 1831 1831
Andrew Donelson 1831 March 4, 1837
Abraham Van Buren March 4, 1837 March 4, 1841 Martin Van Buren
(1837–1841)
Henry Harrison March 4, 1841 April 4, 1841 William Harrison
(1841)
John Tyler April 4, 1841 March 4, 1845 John Tyler
(1841–1845)
Joseph Walker[c] March 4, 1845 March 4, 1849 James Polk
(1845–1849)
William Bliss March 4, 1849 July 9, 1850 Zachary Taylor
(1849–1850)
Millard Fillmore July 9, 1850 March 4, 1853 Millard Fillmore
(1850–1853)
Sidney Webster March 4, 1853 March 4, 1857 Franklin Pierce
(1853–1857)
  1. ^ As aide-de-camp.
  2. ^ Washington had several young assistant secretaries who made copies of his correspondence. Among these were Bob Lewis, Howell Lewis, Bartholomew Dandridge, and George Craik.
  3. ^ Polk's wife, Sarah Childress Polk, is also said have been his personal secretary.

Private Secretary to the White House

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Name Start End President
James Henry March 4, 1857 1859 James Buchanan
(1857–1861)
James Buchanan 1859 March 4, 1861
John Nicolay March 4, 1861 April 15, 1865 Abraham Lincoln
(1861–1865)
John Hay[a] March 4, 1861 April 15, 1865
William Browning April 15, 1865 November 14, 1865 Andrew Johnson
(1865–1869)
Reuben Mussey[a] April 15, 1865 November 14, 1865
Bob Johnson[b] November 14, 1865 October 3, 1867
Edmund Cooper October 3, 1867 November 20, 1867
William Moore[a] 1866 March 4, 1869
Robert Douglas[c] March 4, 1869 1873 Ulysses Grant
(1869–1877)
Horace Porter[a] March 4, 1869 1872
Frederick Dent[a] March 4, 1869 1873
Orville Babcock[a] March 4, 1869 February 7, 1876
Levi Luckey[c] 1873 February 7, 1876
Ulysses Grant[c] February 7, 1876 March 4, 1877
Webb Hayes March 4, 1877 March 4, 1881 Rutherford Hayes
(1877–1881)
Joseph Brown March 4, 1881 September 19, 1881 James Garfield
(1881)
Fred Phillips September 19, 1881 March 4, 1885 Chester Arthur
(1881–1885)
Daniel Lamont March 4, 1885 March 4, 1889 Grover Cleveland
(1885–1889)
Elijah Halford March 4, 1889 March 4, 1893 Benjamin Harrison
(1889–1893)
Henry Thurber March 4, 1893 March 4, 1897 Grover Cleveland
(1893–1897)
  1. ^ a b c d e f As Military Secretary.
  2. ^ "Bob," as he was called, was an alcoholic and was in asylums for treatment during several periods of his father's presidency.[10]
  3. ^ a b c Grant was closer to his military secretaries who did most of the work normally associated with the Private Secretary.

Secretary to the President

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Name Start End President
John Porter March 4, 1897 May 1, 1900 William McKinley
(1897–1901)
George Cortelyou May 1, 1900 February 18, 1903
Theodore Roosevelt
(1901–1909)
William Loeb February 18, 1903 March 4, 1909
Fred Carpenter March 4, 1909 1910 William Taft
(1909–1913)
Charles Norton 1910 1911
Charles Hilles 1911 July 18, 1912
Carmi Thompson July 18, 1912 November 22, 1912
Joseph Tumulty March 4, 1913 March 4, 1921 Woodrow Wilson
(1913–1921)
George Christian March 4, 1921 August 2, 1923 Warren Harding
(1921–1923)
Bascom Slemp September 4, 1923 March 4, 1925 Calvin Coolidge
(1923–1929)
Everett Sanders March 4, 1925 March 4, 1929
Walter Newton July 1, 1929 March 3, 1933 Herbert Hoover
(1929–1933)
Louis Howe March 4, 1933 April 18, 1936 Franklin Roosevelt
(1933–1945)
James Roosevelt July 1937 November 1938
Marvin McIntyre[a] 1941 1943
William Hassett[a] 1944 1952
Harry Truman
(1945–1953)
Beth Campbell Short[a] September 1952 January 20, 1953
  1. ^ a b c As "Correspondence Secretary to the President"

Appointments Secretary

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  Denotes acting capacity.
Name Start End President
George Akerson[a] March 4, 1929 March 16, 1931 Herbert Hoover
(1929–1933)
Ted Joslin[a] March 16, 1931 March 4, 1933
Marvin McIntyre[b] March 4, 1933 1938 Franklin Roosevelt
(1933–1945)
Pa Watson 1938 April 12, 1945
Matthew Connelly April 12, 1945 January 20, 1953
Harry Truman
(1945–1953)
Arthur Vandenberg
On leave 		January 20, 1953 April 14, 1953 Dwight Eisenhower
(1953–1961)
Tom Stephens January 20, 1953 April 14, 1953
April 14, 1953 February 19, 1955
Bernard Shanley February 19, 1955 November 6, 1957
Bob Gray November 6, 1957 March 1958
Tom Stephens March 1958 January 20, 1961
Ken O'Donnell[c] January 20, 1961 November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy
(1961–1963)
Jack Valenti[c] November 22, 1963 February 1, 1965 Lyndon Johnson
(1963–1969)
Marvin Watson[c] February 1, 1965 April 26, 1968
Jim Jones[c] April 26, 1968 January 20, 1969
Dwight Chapin[11] January 20, 1969 March 1973 Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)
Stephen Bull[12] March 1973 August 9, 1974
Warren Rustand August 9, 1974 January 20, 1977 Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)
Tim Kraft January 20, 1977 April 28, 1978 Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)
Phil Wise April 28, 1978 January 20, 1981
  1. ^ a b As Appointments and Press Secretary.
  2. ^ Before 1937 the title was only "Assistant Secretary to Appointments".
  3. ^ a b c d De facto White House Chief of Staff.

Personal secretary to the president

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Name Start End President
Missy LeHand March 4, 1933 June 4, 1941 Franklin Roosevelt
(1933–1945)
Grace Tully June 4, 1941 April 12, 1945
Rose Conway April 12, 1945 January 20, 1953 Harry Truman
(1945–1953)
Ann Whitman January 20, 1953 January 20, 1961 Dwight Eisenhower
(1953–1961)
Evelyn Lincoln January 20, 1961 November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy
(1961–1963)
Gerri Whittington November 22, 1963 January 20, 1969 Lyndon Johnson
(1963–1969)
Rose Mary Woods January 20, 1969 August 9, 1974 Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)
Dorothy Downton August 9, 1974 January 20, 1977 Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)
Susan Clough January 20, 1977 January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)
Kathleen Osborne January 20, 1981 January 20, 1989 Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)
Linda Casey January 20, 1989 January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)
Betty Currie January 20, 1993 January 20, 2001 Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)
Ashley Estes Kavanaugh January 20, 2001 January 20, 2005 George W. Bush
(2001–2009)
Karen Keller January 20, 2005 January 20, 2009
Katie Johnson January 20, 2009 June 10, 2011 Barack Obama
(2009–2017)
Anita Breckenridge June 10, 2011 May 22, 2014
Ferial Govashiri May 22, 2014 January 20, 2017
Madeleine Westerhout January 20, 2017 February 2, 2019 Donald Trump
(2017–2021)
Molly Michael[13][14] February 2, 2019 January 20, 2021
Ashley Williams[a][15] January 20, 2021 September 2022 Joe Biden
(2021–2025)
Julia Reed[b][16] September 2022 March 2024
Drew Rodriguez[b] March 2024 January 20, 2025
Natalie Harp[17][c] January 20, 2025 present Donald Trump
(2025–present)
  1. ^ As Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations
  2. ^ a b As Confidential Aide to the President
  3. ^ As Executive Assistant to the President

References

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  1. ^ a b "White House – Secretaries To The Presidents". Old and Sold Antiques Digest. 1908. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  2. ^ Burke, John P. "Administration of the White House". Miller Center of Public Affairs. Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
  3. ^ Watson, Robert P. (2004). "4". Life in the White House. SUNY Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-7914-6098-6. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  4. ^ Herring, Pendleton (2006). "5". Presidential Leadership. Transaction Publishers. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-4128-0556-8. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  5. ^ "The Presidency: Ted for Ted". Time. May 9, 1932. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  6. ^ "Big Job". Time. February 11, 1929. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  7. ^ "$7,500 Pay for Tumulty". The New York Times. February 3, 1913. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  8. ^ "Description". Time. March 4, 1929. Retrieved May 9, 2009. [dead link]
  9. ^ "Big Job". Time. February 11, 1929. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  10. ^ Bergeron, Paul H. (2001). "Robert Johnson: The President's Troubled and Troubling Son". Journal of East Tennessee History. 73. Knoxville, TN: East Tennessee Historical Society: 1–22. ISSN 1058-2126. OCLC 760067571.
  11. ^ https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/finding-aids/dwight-l-chapin-white-house-special-files-staff-member-and-office-files
  12. ^ "Stephen B. Bull (White House Special Files: Staff Member and Office Files) | Richard Nixon Museum and Library". www.nixonlibrary.gov. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  13. ^ "Annual report to congress on white house office personnel" (PDF). June 28, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 20, 2021.
  14. ^ "Annual report to congress on white house office personnel" (PDF). June 26, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 20, 2021.
  15. ^ Kumar, Anita (February 3, 2021). "In Biden's White House, surprise visits with staff replace late-night tweets". POLITICO. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  16. ^ "Annual report to congress on white house office personnel" (PDF). June 30, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 30, 2023.
  17. ^ "Executive office of the president - annual report to congress on white house office personnel" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2025.

Sources

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