Senior Advisor to the President of the United States

Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. Senior advisors to the president do not have formal government decision making authority, but they can have significant influence over decisions. Their role is to provide strategic advice, analysis, and recommendations to the president on key issues.

Senior Advisors to the President
Incumbent Massad Boulos, Boris Epshteyn, & Elon Musk
Executive Office of the President White House Office
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	January 20, 1993; 32 years ago (1993-01-20)
First holder	Rahm Emanuel
Website	The White House

White House senior advisors are senior members of the White House Office. The title has been formally used since 1993.

Responsibilities

Over time, a senior advisor has had responsibility for the following groups:

White House departments (previously headed by a senior advisor in past administrations)

• White House Office of Strategic Initiatives
• Office of American Innovation
• White House Office of Political Affairs
• Oval Office Operations
• White House Office on Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation
• White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
• White House Office of Public Engagement
• White House Office of Communications
• White House Office of Press Operations
• American Rescue Plan / COVID-19 Relief
• White House Office of the Staff Secretary
• White House Office of Infrastructure Implementation Coordination

Prior administrations

In prior administrations before 1993, the position of "senior advisor" was a title used for various other purposes. Numerous examples of the position also exist throughout the executive departments and in the branch's independent agencies. For example, the Food and Drug Administration includes a position with the title Senior Advisor for Science; the Department of the Interior has a position with the title Senior Advisor for Alaskan Affairs.

Examples of people who had the responsibilities and/or influence of a senior advisor without the title included Edward M. House (to Woodrow Wilson) and Louis Howe (to Franklin D. Roosevelt)

List of senior advisors to the president

Senior advisors to Bill Clinton

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Rahm Emanuel (born 1959)	Political Affairs Strategic Planning Policy	January 20, 1993 – November 7, 1998	Democratic
		George Stephanopoulos (born 1961)	Strategic Planning Policy	June 7, 1993 – December 10, 1996
		Sidney Blumenthal (born 1948)	Political Affairs Communications Policy	August 19, 1997 – January 20, 2001
		Doug Sosnik (born 1959)	Political Affairs Strategic Planning Policy	November 7, 1998 – January 20, 2001
		Joel Johnson (born 1961)	Communications Policy	May 20, 1999 – January 20, 2001

Senior advisors to George W. Bush

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Karl Rove (born 1950)	Political Affairs Strategic Planning Communications	January 20, 2001 – August 31, 2007	Republican
		Barry Steven Jackson (born 1960)	Political Affairs Strategic Planning Communications	September 1, 2007 – January 20, 2009

Senior advisors to Barack Obama

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Valerie Jarrett (born 1956)	Public Engagement Intergovernmental Affairs	January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017	Democratic
		Pete Rouse (born 1946)	Strategic Planning	January 20, 2009 – October 1, 2010
		David Axelrod (born 1955)	Political Affairs Communications	January 20, 2009 – January 10, 2011
		David Plouffe (born 1967)	Political Affairs Communications	January 10, 2011 – January 25, 2013
		Daniel Pfeiffer (born 1975)	Political Affairs Communications	January 25, 2013 – March 6, 2015
		Brian Deese (born 1978)	Climate and Energy	February 13, 2015 – January 20, 2017
		Shailagh Murray (born 1965)	Communications	April 3, 2015 – January 20, 2017

Senior advisors to Donald Trump

First presidency

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Jared Kushner (born 1981)	Strategic Planning	January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021	Republican
		Stephen Miller (born 1985)	Policy	January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021
		Kevin Hassett (born 1962)	Economic Issues	April 15, 2020 – July 1, 2020
		Eric Herschmann (born 1962)	Opposition research Legal issues	August 3, 2020 – January 20, 2021

Second presidency

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Elon Musk (born 1971)	Government Efficiency	January 20, 2025 – Incumbent	Independent
		Massad Boulos (born 1971)	Arab, Middle Eastern and Africa Affairs	January 20, 2025 – Incumbent	Republican
		Boris Epshtyen (born 1982)	Communications	January 20, 2025 – Incumbent	Republican

Senior advisors to Joe Biden

Senior Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party
		Cedric Richmond (born 1973)	Public Engagement	January 20, 2021 – May 18, 2022	Democratic
		Keisha Lance Bottoms (born 1970)		July 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023
		Julie Rodriguez (born 1978)	Intergovernmental Affairs	June 15, 2022 – May 16, 2023
		Neera Tanden (born 1970)	Health care Policy United States Digital Service	May 17, 2021 – May 26, 2023
		Mitch Landrieu (born 1960)	Infrastructure Implementation Coordination	November 15, 2021 – January 8, 2024
		Mike Donilon (born 1958)	Chief Strategist	January 20, 2021 – January 23, 2024
		Anita Dunn (born 1958)	Communications	1st: Jan. 20 – August 12, 2021 2nd: May 5, 2022 – July 31, 2024
		Gene Sperling (born 1958)	COVID-19 Relief (American Rescue Plan)	March 15, 2021 – August 2024
		John Podesta (born 1949)	Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation and International Climate Policy Advisor (effective January 31, 2024)	September 2, 2022 – January 20, 2025
		Stephen K. Benjamin (born 1969)	Public Engagement	April 1, 2023 – January 20, 2025
		Tom Perez (born 1961)	Intergovernmental Affairs	June 12, 2023 – January 20, 2025
		Annie Tomasini	Deputy Chief of Staff	June 2023 – January 20, 2025
		Ben LaBolt (born 1981)	Communications	August 8, 2024 – January 20, 2025
		Karine Jean-Pierre (born 1974)	Press Secretary	October 7, 2024 – January 20, 2025

List of advisors to the president

Advisor			Portfolio	Term of office	Party	President
		Stephanie Cutter (born 1968)	Message and Communications	January 2011 – September 2011	Democratic	Barack Obama
		Ivanka Trump (born 1981)	Women's Issues Workforce Development Entrepreneurship	March 29, 2017 – January 20, 2021	Republican	Donald Trump

See also

• United States portal
• Politics portal

• Counselor to the President
• Senior advisor

Notes

1. ceased working at White House on April 30, 2025
2. Concurrently served as the Director of the Office of Public Engagement
3. Concurrently served as the Director of the Intergovernmental Affairs Office
4. Concurrently served as White House Staff Secretary
5. Concurrently served as the Director of the Office of Public Engagement
6. Concurrently served as the Director of the Intergovernmental Affairs Office

Explanatory footnotes

1. Stephanie Cutter held the official title of "Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor" during her time in office.
2. President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump was sometimes called a 'Senior Advisor to the President' (or sometimes a 'senior advisor to the President', without the upper case 'S' and 'A') by unofficial sources, even though that was actually the title of her husband Jared Kushner, while her own title was 'Advisor to the President'.

References

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