White House Office of Public Liaison

White House Office of Public Engagement
Agency overview
Formed1974; 52 years ago (1974)
Headquarters
Agency executive
  • Jim Goyer, Director
Parent department
White House Office

The White House Office of Public Liaison (OPL) is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under President Barack Obama, it was renamed to 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 the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. President Joe Biden changed the name to Office of Public Engagement (OPE) with a separate IGA office, which was once again reverted in Trump's second term.

The Office is responsible for communicating with various interest groups and overseeing their relationships with the White House.

History

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."

Some OPL heads have used the office to push their own agendas. Faith Whittlesey used her time as director of the OPL under Ronald Reagan to increase the influence of the Christian right and anti-communist groups, such as the Contras in Nicaragua.

Prior to Whittlesey, future cabinet secretary and U.S. senator Elizabeth Dole headed OPL under Reagan from 1981 to 1983. Directors during Bill Clinton's administration included future cabinet secretary Alexis Herman, Maria Echaveste, Minyon Moore, and Mary Beth Cahill (future manager of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign).

In May 2009, Barack Obama renamed it the Office of Public Engagement (OPE), stating it an announcement "OPE, along with the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, will serve as the front door to the White House through which ordinary Americans can participate and inform the work of the President. [...] In addition to its traditional White House operations, OPE will now also focus on getting information from the American people outside the Washington beltway through special public events as well as activities on the web site. The office will have a strong on-line presence, including blog postings from OPE staff and other interactive elements". Tina Tchen was then the director of the OPE from 2009 to 2011.

In April 2009, actor Kal Penn was named an associate director in the Office of Public Engagement. His role was said to include outreach to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and the arts community. 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.

In 2017, 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. However, George Sifakis was appointed instead in March 2017.

In November 2020, Joe Biden announced that that office would again be renamed to the Office of Public Engagement. It was headed by Cedric Richmond until his resignation in May 2022, replaced by Adrian Saenz in an acting capacity. Biden introduced a team of social media influencers to operate a Health Care Leaders in Social Media team, whose staff included Joel Bervell.

In January 2025, Trump once again reverted the name.

List of directors

  Denotes acting capacity.
Image Name Start End President
Chuck Colson July 9, 1970 March 10, 1973 Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)
William Baroody March 10, 1973 January 20, 1977
Gerald Ford
(1974–1977)
Midge Costanza January 20, 1977 September 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)
Anne Wexler September 1, 1978 January 20, 1981
Elizabeth Dole January 20, 1981 February 7, 1983 Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)
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
(1989–1993)
Cecile Kremer April 6, 1992 January 20, 1993
Alexis Herman January 20, 1993 February 7, 1997 Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)
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
(2001–2009)
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
(2009–2017)
Jon Carson January 5, 2011 March 14, 2013
Paulette Aniskoff March 14, 2013 January 20, 2017
George Sifakis January 20, 2017 March 6, 2017 Donald Trump
(2017–2021)
March 6, 2017 September 25, 2017
Johnny DeStefano September 25, 2017 February 9, 2018
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
(2021–2025)
Adrian Saenz
Acting		 May 18, 2022 June 30, 2022
Keisha Lance Bottoms July 1, 2022 April 1, 2023
Steve Benjamin April 1, 2023 January 20, 2025
Jim Goyer January 20, 2025 present Donald Trump
(2025–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
(2009–2017)

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. 1 2 "President Trump Announces Appointments to the White House Offices of Communications, Public Liaison, and Cabinet Affairs". White House Office. January 24, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Pika, Joseph A. (March 2009). "The White House Office of Public Liaison" (PDF). The White House Transition Project. 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. ↑ Wise, Alana (November 17, 2020). "Biden Taps Several Senior Campaign Aides For Key White House Positions". NPR.org. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  15. ↑ DeChalus, Camila (December 2, 2023). "Biden Campaign Struggles to Keep Young Social Media Influencers in the Fold". CNN. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  16. ↑ Sink, Justin; Cirilli, Kevin (March 6, 2017). "Trump Names Sifakis as Public Liaison, Passing Over Scaramucci". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ 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.