AllPolitics - Cabinet Shuffle

White House Staff Short List


CHIEF OF STAFF

CURRENT:

Leon Panetta

Leon Panetta
Resigned
APPOINTED:

Erskine Bowles

STATUS:

White House Chief of Staff Panetta is leaving his post to return to California and, many think, run for governor, though Panetta refuses to comment on his political future until he officially leaves his job. President Bill Clinton turned to his trusted friend and adviser Erskine Bowles to replace Panetta. Previously an investment banker, Bowles has already served on the president's administration, first at the Small Business Administration and later as a deputy chief of staff. Though the two fellow golf addicts only met during the 1992 presidential campaign, Clinton and Bowles quickly forged a close relationship. The choice of moderate Bowles over more liberal candidates like Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes signifies the Clinton's commitment to keep his election-night promise to govern from "the vital center." Both Panetta and Bowles have been advising the president during the transition and the second-term Cabinet rebuilding.
Updated Dec. 2

RELATED STORY:
  • TIME: Erskine Bowles: Clinton's Alter Ego - Nov. 19, 1996
  • Clinton's "Vital Center" - Nov. 8, 1996
  • DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF

    CURRENT:

    Harold Ickes

    Harold Ickes
    Resigned

    STATUS:

    Deputy Chief of Staff Ickes has been credited with turning Bill Clinton's presidency around in the face of plummeting public support and for masterminding the president's successful re-election campaign. He wanted Leon Panetta's job during the second-term but was passed over in favor of Erskine Bowles. There has been grumblings from White House associates over what some call Ickes' "shabby" treatment; Clinton did not inform him personally of the decision until after the public announcement was made. Ickes was also one of the few left-leaning voices advising the president and there is now concern among some Democrats that his departure will leave no one to argue for the party's traditional compassionate liberalism.
    Updated Dec. 2

    RELATED STORY:

  • TIME: Michael Kramer on Harold Ickes' Quick Goodbye - Nov. 19, 1996
  • Ickes Stepping Down As Deputy Chief of Staff - Nov. 11, 1996

  • SENIOR ADVISER

    CURRENT:

    George Stephanopoulous

    George
    Stephanopoulos
    Leaving

    STATUS: Senior adviser Stephanopoulos has been the President's main tactician for five grinding years but made it known before the election that he wants to shift gears. Instead he will teach political science at his alma mater, Columbia University, after he leaves the White House early next year.
    Updated Dec. 4

    Related Story:
  • Professor Next. Politician Someday? - Dec. 4, 1996


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