White House Chief of Staff

White House Chief of Staff
Incumbent Reince Priebus since January 20, 2017
Executive Office of the President White House Office
Reports to	The President
Appointer	The President
Formation	1946 (Assistant to the President) 1961 (White House Chief of Staff)
First holder	John R. Steelman
Succession	None
Website	The White House

The White House Chief of Staff has traditionally been the highest-ranking employee of the White House. With the creation of the new position of White House Chief Strategist by the Trump administration, the Chief of Staff appears to now share equal rank and authority with that of the Chief Strategist. The Chief of Staff's position is a modern successor to the earlier role of the president's private secretary. The role was formalized as the assistant to the president in 1946 and acquired its current name in 1961.

The Chief of Staff is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the president; it does not require Senate confirmation.

Reince Priebus is the current Chief of Staff.

The duties of the White House chief of staff vary greatly from one administration to another, and in fact, there is no legal requirement that the president even fill the position. However, since at least 1979, all presidents have found the need for a chief of staff, who typically oversees the actions of the White House staff, manages the president's schedule, and decides who is allowed to meet with the president. Because of these duties, the chief of staff has at various times been labeled "The Gatekeeper", or "the power behind the throne".

Originally, the duties now performed by the chief of staff belonged to the president's private secretary and were fulfilled by crucial confidants and advisers such as George B. Cortelyou, Joseph Tumulty, and Louis McHenry Howe to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt, respectively. The private secretary served as the president's de facto chief aide in a role that combined personal and professional assignments of highly delicate and demanding natures, requiring great skill and discretion. The job of gatekeeper and overseeing the president's schedule was separately delegated to the appointments secretary, as with FDR's aide Edwin "Pa" Watson.