Senior Advisor to the President of the United States facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Senior Advisor
Incumbent Top row: Mike Donilon, Anita Dunn, Gene Sperling, Bottom row: Stephen K. Benjamin, Tom Perez, Annie Tomasini
Executive Office of the President
Website	The White House

A Senior Advisor to the President is a very important helper to the president of the United States. These advisors are top members of the White House Office, which is part of the Executive Office of the President. They give advice and help the president with many different tasks. This special job title has been officially used since 1993.

What Does a Senior Advisor Do?

Senior Advisors help the president with many important things. They often lead different groups or projects within the White House.

Current Senior Advisor Roles

Right now, Senior Advisors are in charge of these areas:

• White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs: This office helps the president work with state and local governments. (Tom Perez)
• White House Office of Public Engagement: This office connects the White House with different groups of people and communities. (Stephen K. Benjamin)
• Oval Office Operations: This person helps manage the daily activities and schedule around the Oval Office. (Annie Tomasini)

Past Senior Advisor Roles

In the past, Senior Advisors have also led other important projects and offices, like:

• United States Digital Services: This group helps improve government technology.
• White House Office of Strategic Initiatives: This office plans long-term goals for the president.
• Office of American Innovation: This office looked for new ideas to make the government work better.
• White House Office of Political Affairs: This office deals with political strategies.
• White House Office of Communications: This office handles how the White House talks to the public and the media.
• Infrastructure Implementation Coordination: This role helped put into action plans for building and fixing roads, bridges, and other important structures.
• Climate and Clean Energy Innovation & Implementation: This role focused on new ways to create clean energy and fight climate change.

Senior Advisors Through History

Before 1993, the title "senior advisor" was used in different ways. Many other government departments and agencies also have people called "Senior Advisors" who help with specific topics. For example, the Food and Drug Administration has a Senior Advisor for Science, and the Department of the Interior has one for Alaskan Affairs.

Who Has Been a Senior Advisor?

Here are some of the people who have served as Senior Advisors to different presidents.

Senior Advisors to President Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

Senior Advisor			What They Focused On	When They Served	Political Party
		Rahm Emanuel (born 1959)	Political plans, long-term goals, and policies	January 20, 1993 – November 7, 1998	Democratic
		George Stephanopoulos (born 1961)	Long-term goals and policies	June 7, 1993 – December 10, 1996	Democratic
		Sidney Blumenthal (born 1948)	Political plans, talking to the public, and policies	August 19, 1997 – January 20, 2001	Democratic
		Doug Sosnik (born 1959)	Political plans, long-term goals, and policies	November 7, 1998 – January 20, 2001	Democratic
		Joel Johnson (born 1961)	Talking to the public and policies	May 20, 1999 – January 20, 2001	Democratic

Senior Advisors to President George W. Bush (2001-2009)

Senior Advisor			What They Focused On	When They Served	Political Party
		Karl Rove (born 1950)	Political plans, long-term goals, and talking to the public	January 20, 2001 – August 31, 2007	Republican
		Barry Steven Jackson (born 1960)	Political plans, long-term goals, and talking to the public	September 1, 2007 – January 20, 2009	Republican

Senior Advisors to President Barack Obama (2009-2017)

Senior Advisor			What They Focused On	When They Served	Political Party
		Valerie Jarrett (born 1956)	Connecting with the public and working with other governments	January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017	Democratic
		Pete Rouse (born 1946)	Long-term goals	January 20, 2009 – October 1, 2010	Democratic
		David Axelrod (born 1955)	Political plans and talking to the public	January 20, 2009 – January 10, 2011	Democratic
		David Plouffe (born 1967)	Political plans and talking to the public	January 10, 2011 – January 25, 2013	Democratic
		Daniel Pfeiffer (born 1975)	Political plans and talking to the public	January 25, 2013 – March 6, 2015	Democratic
		Brian Deese (born 1978)	Climate and energy issues	February 13, 2015 – January 20, 2017	Democratic
		Shailagh Murray (born 1965)	Talking to the public	April 3, 2015 – January 20, 2017	Democratic

Senior Advisors to President Donald Trump (2017-2021)

Senior Advisor			What They Focused On	When They Served	Political Party
		Jared Kushner (born 1981)	Long-term goals	January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021	Republican
		Stephen Miller (born 1985)	Policy	January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021	Republican
		Kevin Hassett (born 1962)	Economic issues	April 15, 2020 – July 1, 2020	Republican
		Eric Herschmann (born 1962)	Legal issues	August 3, 2020 – January 20, 2021	Republican

Senior Advisors to President Joe Biden (2021-Present)

These are the current Senior Advisors:

Senior Advisor			What They Focused On	When They Served	Political Party
		Mike Donilon	Main strategies	January 20, 2021 – present	Democratic
		Anita Dunn	Talking to the public	1st: Jan. 20 – August 12, 2021 2nd: May 5, 2022 – July 31, 2024	Democratic
		Gene Sperling (born 1958)	COVID-19 relief plans (American Rescue Plan)	March 15, 2021 – present	Democratic
		Stephen K. Benjamin (born 1969)	Connecting with the public	April 1, 2023 – present	Democratic
		Tom Perez	Working with other governments	June 12, 2023 – present	Democratic
		Deputy Chief of Staff	June 2023 – present	Democratic

These are former Senior Advisors under President Biden:

Senior Advisor			What They Focused On	When They Served	Political Party
		Cedric Richmond	Connecting with the public	January 20, 2021 – May 18, 2022	Democratic
		Keisha Lance Bottoms (born 1970)	Connecting with the public	July 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023	Democratic
		Julie Rodriguez	Working with other governments	June 15, 2022 – May 16, 2023	Democratic
		Neera Tanden	Health care policy and digital services	May 17, 2021 – May 26, 2023	Democratic
		Mitch Landrieu (born 1960)	Helping with infrastructure projects	November 15, 2021 – January 8, 2024	Democratic
		John Podesta	Clean energy and climate change projects	September 2, 2022 – March 6, 2024	Democratic

See Also

• Counselor to the President
• Senior advisor