Some Tips on Managing President Trump and His Staff

One of President-elect Donald Trump’s first appointments was Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to take on the all-consuming job of White House chief of staff.

On Tuesday evening, Priebus got some tips on how to approach the Herculean task of playing wingman to the world’s most powerful executive, courtesy of Denis McDonough, chief of staff to President Obama, and Andrew Card, who played the role for President George W. Bush.

The job involves “the care and feeding of the president, policy formulation and marketing and branding, so he never has to worry about anything but being president,” Card told an audience at the Newseum in Washington during a panel discussion put on by the Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service and sponsored by SAP.

It’s also “making sure the president never makes an easy decision,” Card said — others in government can do that. And doing the job well means “never letting the president make a monumental decision based on unilateral counsel.” All qualified advisers must be given the chance to make their case.

“It’s easy to get sucked into the oath that says you serve at the pleasure of the president, but trying to please him is not the job,” Card said. What is essential is protecting Article 2 of the Constitution, which lays out the executive branch’s powers, “to protect the institution of the presidency.” That is why, for example, a chief of staff should never accept an invitation to testify before Congress, Card said in response to questions from presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. “The president needs candid advice.”

McDonough agreed, saying, “the decisions I give the president are hard.” He said he avoids “presenting any data that is crooked or out of whack, so the decision comes to him square” and no adviser complains he or she didn’t get a chance to state their position.

McDonough, a longtime Democrat whose background is in national security, said he took a page from two-time Republican White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III by having all key White House players sign statements describing their roles. That way, “accountability is enforceable, and l can manage the place,” he said. The least effective White Houses, McDonough said, have been those in which “the responsibility is unclear.”

Baker also inspired Card, who quoted his advice that “you can focus on the chief part or on the staff part of the job, but if you focus on the chief part, you will get in trouble.”

Besides providing direct assistance to the president, the chief of staff’s job involves scheduling, budgeting, hiring and travel. “The chief of staff gets blamed when things go wrong,” Card said. “The president can mold the White House staff, but it’s best if the chief of staff molds the White House staff.”

McDonough said that when President Obama travels, he stays in Washington, which gives him a chance to have dinner with his wife and young children. He vowed not to write a memoir, saying, “The main actors should tell their stories.”

Card noted that he began every day on the job by saying “top of the morning” to President Bush — even if it was shaping up as a terrible day. And each day he also said “thank you for the privilege of working here.”