White House Office of Public Engagement

The White House Office of Public Engagement (OPE) is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, it combined oversight of OPE and the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) under the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPE-IGA). President Donald Trump restored the prior name of the Office of Public Liaison (OPL) and re-separated IGA. President Joe Biden changed the name back to OPE but kept IGA separate in his administration.^[1]

White House Office of Public Engagement

Agency overview
Formed	1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Headquarters	Eisenhower Executive Office Building Washington, D.C., U.S. 38°53′51.24″N 77°2′20.93″W
Agency executive	Steve Benjamin, Director
Parent department	White House Office

The current director of public engagement is former mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, Stephen K. Benjamin, who assumed office in April 2023.^[2]

History

The Office of Public Liaison has been responsible for communicating and interacting with various interest groups. Under President Richard Nixon, Charles Colson performed public liaison work. President Gerald Ford first formalized the public liaison office after he took office in 1974, giving Nixon administration veteran William J. Baroody Jr. a mandate for OPL to become "an instrument for projecting the image of a truly open administration (in contrast to Nixon's) and to secure Ford's election in 1976. Under Baroody's direction, the office incorporated outreach efforts with consumers and women that had been located elsewhere in the White House, and the overall staff grew to approximately thirty. At the core of its activities was an aggressive campaign of regional conferences that enabled the nation's first un-elected president to tour the country in a campaign-like atmosphere and prepare the way for an eventual reelection campaign."^[3]

Some OPL heads used the office to push their own agendas. Midge Costanza used her time at OPL to broaden the influence of gays and lesbians in White House policy.^[3] Faith Ryan Whittlesey used her time at OPL to increase the influence of the Christian right^[4] and anti-communist groups, such as the Contras in Nicaragua.^[5]

Future cabinet secretary and U.S. senator Elizabeth Dole headed OPL under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983. Directors during Bill Clinton's administration included future cabinet secretary Alexis Herman, Maria Echaveste, Minyon Moore, and future John Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill.^[6]

In May 2009, Obama continued this theme and renamed the Office of Public Liaison the Office of Public Engagement.^[7] Under the Obama administration, the Office of Public Engagement had been referred to as "the front door to the White House, through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President."

In April 2009, actor Kal Penn was named an associate director in the Office of Public Engagement.^[8] His role was said to include outreach to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and the arts community.^[9] Prior to the appointment, he was a permanent cast member in the television series House, and his acceptance required him to be written out of the series.^[10]

President Donald Trump initially announced his intention to appoint Anthony Scaramucci to oversee the Office of Public Liaison in his administration, pending a review of Scaramucci's finances by the Office of Government Ethics.^[11] However, George Sifakis was appointed instead in March 2017.^[12][13]

Joe Biden announced on November 17, 2020, that the office will be known as the Office of Public Engagement in his incoming administration, and was first headed by Cedric Richmond until his resignation in May 2022, when he was replaced by Adrian Saenz in an acting capacity.^[14]

List of directors

The following have held the office of Director of Public Liaison at the White House:

Image	Name	Start	End	President
	Chuck Colson	July 9, 1970	March 10, 1973		Richard Nixon
	William Baroody	March 10, 1973	January 20, 1977
					Gerald Ford
	Midge Costanza	January 20, 1977	September 1, 1978		Jimmy Carter
	Anne Wexler	September 1, 1978	January 20, 1981
	Elizabeth Dole	January 20, 1981	February 7, 1983		Ronald Reagan
	Faith Whittlesey	March 3, 1983	March 19, 1985
	Linda Chavez	April 8, 1985	February 4, 1986
	Mari Maseng	May 12, 1986	July 1987
	Rebecca Range	September 2, 1987	January 20, 1989
	Bobbie Kilberg	January 20, 1989	April 6, 1992		George H. W. Bush
	Cecile Kremer	April 6, 1992	January 20, 1993
	Alexis Herman	January 20, 1993	February 7, 1997		Bill Clinton
	Maria Echaveste	February 7, 1997	June 29, 1998
	Minyon Moore	June 29, 1998	February 5, 1999
	Mary Beth Cahill	February 5, 1999	January 20, 2001
	Lezlee Westine	January 20, 2001	May 25, 2005		George W. Bush
	Rhonda Keenum	May 25, 2005	March 20, 2007
	Julie Cram	March 20, 2007	January 20, 2009
	Tina Tchen	January 20, 2009	January 5, 2011		Barack Obama
	Jon Carson	January 5, 2011	March 14, 2013
	Paulette Aniskoff	March 14, 2013	January 20, 2017
	George Sifakis	January 20, 2017 Acting: January 20, 2017 – March 6, 2017[15]	September 25, 2017[16][17]		Donald Trump
	Johnny DeStefano	September 25, 2017 Acting: September 25, 2017 – February 9, 2018	March 18, 2018
	Justin Clark	March 18, 2018	December 7, 2018
	Steve Munisteri Acting	December 7, 2018	February 2, 2019
	Tim Pataki	February 2, 2019	January 20, 2021
	Cedric Richmond	January 20, 2021	May 18, 2022		Joe Biden
	Adrian Saenz Acting	May 18, 2022	June 30, 2022
	Keisha Lance Bottoms	July 1, 2022	April 1, 2023
	Steve Benjamin	April 1, 2023	present

Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs

During the Obama administration, there was a director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs who sat above the public engagement director and intergovernmental affairs director.

Image	Name	Start	End	President
	Valerie Jarrett	January 20, 2009	January 20, 2017		Barack Obama

References

1. "Incoming White House Public Engagement Director On His Plans For The Job". All Things Considered. NPR. December 11, 2020. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
2. McCarthy, Mia (February 27, 2023). "Former South Carolina mayor replaces Bottoms at White House Office of Public Engagement". Politico. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
3. "The White House Transition Project" (PDF). White House Transition Project. March 2009. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016.
4. Martin, William (1996). With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America. New York: Broadway. p. 235. ISBN 0-7679-2257-3.
5. Sklar, Holly (1995). Washington's War on Nicaragua. Cambridge, MA: South End Press. p. 244. ISBN 0-89608-295-4.
6. "The White House Transition Project" (PDF). White House Transition Project. March 2009. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016.
7. "President Obama Launches Office of Public Engagement: A New Name, Mission for White House Liaison Office" (Press release). Office of the Press Secretary. May 11, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
8. Ambinder, Marc (April 9, 2009). "Actor, Comedian, Associate Director of Public Liaison". The Atlantic.
9. "Actor Kal Penn joining the Obama administration". CNN. April 7, 2009. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009.
10. Daunt, Tina (April 10, 2009). "Kal Penn tackles a new role: White House liaison". Los Angeles Times.
11. Gasparino, Charles; Schwartz, Brian (January 31, 2017). "The Story Behind Scaramucci's Delayed Appointment Amid Trump White House Bickering". Fox Business. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
12. "President Donald J. Trump Announces White House Staff Appointments". whitehouse.gov. March 6, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017 – via National Archives.
13. Kamisar, Ben (January 12, 2017). "Scaramucci lands White House job". The Hill. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
14. "Biden Taps Several Senior Campaign Aides For Key White House Positions". NPR.org. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
15. Sink, Justin; Cirilli, Kevin (March 6, 2017). "Trump Names Sifakis as Public Liaison, Passing Over Scaramucci". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
16. Delk, Josh (August 18, 2017). "Public Liaison director leaving White House". The Hill. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
17. Cook, Nancy (October 15, 2017). "Kelly tries to get empty administration jobs filled fast". Politico. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2017.

External links

• White House Office of Public Engagement
• White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
• Official website from the presidency of Barack Obama