White House Counsel facts for kids

The White House Counsel is a very important lawyer who works for the president of the United States. This person gives legal advice to the president and their team. They help the president understand laws and make sure everything is done correctly.

The White House Counsel also leads a group of other lawyers and staff. This group is called the Office of White House Counsel. They all work together to give legal help to the president and the White House Office. Sometimes, this office is also called "Counsel to the President."

The current White House Counsel is Ed Siskel. He started this job on September 11, 2023.

What Does the White House Counsel Do?

The Office of Counsel to the President and Vice President started in 1943. Their main job is to give legal advice on many different things.

Helping with Laws and Decisions

• They advise on all legal parts of new policies.
• They help the president decide whether to sign or reject new laws.
• They look at rules about ethics, like making sure people are honest.
• They check financial reports to prevent conflicts of interest.

Managing Important Tasks

• The office helps decide what counts as official work versus political activities.
• They help choose people for important government jobs, including judges.
• They handle requests for presidential pardons. A pardon is when the president forgives someone for a crime.
• They review new laws and statements from the president.
• They are the main contact for the United States Department of Justice.
• They also handle lawsuits against the president in their official role.

How Is the White House Counsel Different from a Personal Lawyer?

The White House Counsel gives legal advice to the president and vice president. But this advice is only for their official government duties. The counsel is not the president's personal lawyer.

Official vs. Personal Advice

This means the counsel does not give advice on personal matters. For example, if the president needs legal help for something private, they would hire their own personal lawyer.

When the Counsel Can't Help

The White House Counsel also does not represent the president in certain situations. This includes when Congress is investigating the president for possible wrongdoing. In these cases, the president needs to rely on a personal attorney for private legal advice.

The White House Counsel's office is also different from other legal roles in the government. For example, the Attorney General of the United States leads the United States Department of Justice. The Solicitor General argues cases for the government in the Supreme Court. These roles are separate from the White House Counsel.

Who Has Been White House Counsel?

Here is a list of the people who have served as White House Counsel:

Image	Name	Start	End	President
	Rosenman, SamuelSamuel Rosenman	October 2, 1943	February 1, 1946		Roosevelt, Franklin D.Franklin D. Roosevelt
					Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman
	Clifford, ClarkClark Clifford	February 1, 1946	January 31, 1950
	Murphy, CharlesCharles Murphy	January 31, 1950	January 20, 1953
	Stephens, TomTom Stephens	January 20, 1953 On leave	April 14, 1953		Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower
	Shanley, BernardBernard Shanley	January 20, 1953 Acting: January 20, 1953 – April 14, 1953	February 19, 1955
	Morgan, GeraldGerald Morgan	February 19, 1955	November 5, 1958
	Kendall, DavidDavid Kendall	November 5, 1958	January 20, 1961
	Sorensen, TedTed Sorensen	January 20, 1961	February 29, 1964		Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy
					Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson
	Feldman, MikeMike Feldman	April 1964	January 17, 1965
	White, LeeLee White	January 17, 1965	February 11, 1966
	Semer, MiltonMilton Semer	February 14, 1966	December 31, 1966
	McPherson, HarryHarry McPherson	February 11, 1966	October 26, 1967
	Temple, LarryLarry Temple	October 26, 1967	January 20, 1969
	Ehrlichman, JohnJohn Ehrlichman	January 20, 1969	November 4, 1969		Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon
	Colson, ChuckChuck Colson	November 6, 1969	July 9, 1970
	Dean, JohnJohn Dean	July 9, 1970	April 30, 1973
	Garment, LenLen Garment	April 30, 1973	August 9, 1974
	Buchen, PhilipPhilip Buchen	August 9, 1974	January 20, 1977		Ford, GeraldGerald Ford
	Lipshutz, RobertRobert Lipshutz	January 20, 1977	October 1, 1979		Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter
	Cutler, LloydLloyd Cutler	October 1, 1979	January 20, 1981
	Fielding, FredFred Fielding	January 20, 1981	May 23, 1986		Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan
	Wallison, PeterPeter Wallison	May 23, 1986	March 20, 1987
	Culvahouse, ArthurArthur Culvahouse	March 20, 1987	January 20, 1989
	Gray, BoydenBoyden Gray	January 20, 1989	January 20, 1993		Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush
	Nussbaum, BernardBernard Nussbaum	January 20, 1993	March 8, 1994		Clinton, BillBill Clinton
	Cutler, LloydLloyd Cutler	March 8, 1994	October 1, 1994
	Mikva, AbnerAbner Mikva	October 1, 1994	November 1, 1995
	Quinn, JackJack Quinn	November 1, 1995	February 1997
	Ruff, ChuckChuck Ruff	February 1997	August 6, 1999
	Mills, CherylCheryl Mills Acting	August 6, 1999	September 1999
	Nolan, BethBeth Nolan	September 1999	January 20, 2001
	Gonzales, AlbertoAlberto Gonzales	January 20, 2001	February 3, 2005		Bush, George W.George W. Bush
	Miers, HarrietHarriet Miers	February 3, 2005	January 31, 2007
	Fielding, FredFred Fielding	January 31, 2007	January 20, 2009
	Craig, GregGreg Craig	January 20, 2009	January 3, 2010		Obama, BarackBarack Obama
	Bauer, BobBob Bauer	January 3, 2010	June 30, 2011
	Ruemmler, KathyKathy Ruemmler	June 30, 2011	June 2, 2014
	Eggleston, NeilNeil Eggleston	June 2, 2014	January 20, 2017
	McGahn, DonDon McGahn	January 20, 2017	October 17, 2018		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump
	Flood, EmmetEmmet Flood Acting	October 18, 2018	December 10, 2018
	Cipollone, PatPat Cipollone	December 10, 2018	January 20, 2021
	Remus, DanaDana Remus	January 20, 2021	July 1, 2022		Biden, JoeJoe Biden
	Delery, StuartStuart Delery	July 1, 2022	September 11, 2023
	Siskel, EdEd Siskel	September 11, 2023	present