The Evolution of the White House Staff, 1946-2024

• In Event: Presidential Appointments

Abstract

Utilizing biographical and turnover data on commissioned White House aides, this paper examines White House staff recruitment patterns, organization stability and levels of loyalty and competence during President Biden's first term, and places those findings in historical context. Did Biden reverse the chaos and high turnover that afflicted Trump's White House staff? Do we see a return to more traditional recruitment patterns and levels of stability more characteristic of the pre-Trump presidents? The research is part of an ongoing study of White House staff personnel and tenure rates dating back to 1933, drawing on biographical data and turnover rates of more than 2,000 commissioned White House aides who served during this period.

Authors

• Matthew J. Dickinson

• Kate Reinmuth, Stanford University