White House demotes Chief of Staff Bill Daley

posted at 1:01 pm on November 8, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
[ Obama's Cabinet ]   

When it comes to White House chiefs of staff, Barack Obama has tried “in your face” and he’s tried “mellow.” According to Business Insider, the president’s an “in your face” man. The website reports that Chief of Staff Bill Daley—whom Obama brought on “to mellow out the White House after Emanuel’s combative tenure”—has been demoted in favor of long-time Obama aide Pete Rouse, who will serve as de facto chief of staff.

The reason cited for Daley’s demotion is his “management style [which] has been heavily criticized as confused and ineffective.”

Of the shakeup, which was announced in a staff meeting on Monday, the Wall Street Journal notes that Daley’s new responsibilities have not yet been fully defined but that in recent weeks his attention has focused increasingly on “managing relations with influential outsiders.”

The Journal report continues:

The recalibration of Mr. Daley’s portfolio, agreed to by Mr. Obama, is designed to smooth any kinks in the president’s team as it braces for the overlapping demands of governing while campaigning for re-election, people familiar with the matter said. The West Wing is preparing for budget battles with Congress and is seeking to use its executive powers more extensively.

The new set-up effectively makes Mr. Rouse the president’s inside manager and Mr. Daley his ambassador, roles that appear to better suit both men’s talents. Mr. Rouse served as interim chief of staff before Mr. Daley arrived, and his White House bio boasts he is “known as the ‘101st Senator’” for his extensive knowledge of Congress.

But as The Blaze points out:

[I]f ‘ambassador’ is Daley’s best role … he might want to think about what he says in interviews. Late last month he boasted to Politico that the White House is trying to ‘figure out what we can do [without Congress] and push the envelope on some of these things.’ He also quipped about the president’s low approval ratings.

Although Daley’s reassignment is not an official staff turnover, it nevertheless adds to the sense that the Obama administration—which in a single term has lost its entire team of economic advisers—has never quite achieved a rock-solid footing.

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