Counselor to the President

Counselor to the President
Incumbent Alina Habba (left) Peter Navarro (right) since January 20, 2025
Executive Office of the President White House Office
Reports to	President of the United States
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	January 20, 1969; 56 years ago (1969-01-20)
First holder	Arthur F. Burns
Website	The White House

Counselor to the President is a title used by important political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office.

List of counselors to the president

Counselors to President Richard Nixon (1969–1974)

Counselor to the President Donald Rumsfeld confers with President Richard Nixon on the White House grounds.

All of President Nixon's counselors were members of his Cabinet during their respective tenures.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
		Arthur F. Burns (1904–1987)	January 20, 1969 – November 5, 1969	Republican
		Pat Moynihan (1927–2003)	November 5, 1969[1] – December 31, 1970[2]	Democratic
		Bryce Harlow (1916–1987)	November 5, 1969[1] – December 9, 1970[3]	Republican
		Robert Finch (1925–1995)	June 23, 1970[4] – December 15, 1972[5]	Republican
		Donald Rumsfeld (1932–2021)	December 11, 1970[6] – October 15, 1971[6]	Republican
		Anne Armstrong (1927–2008)	January 19, 1973 – August 9, 1974	Republican
		Dean Burch (1927–1991)	March 8, 1974[7] – August 9, 1974[8]	Republican
		Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)	May 29, 1974[9] – August 9, 1974[10]	Republican

Counselors to President Gerald Ford (1974–1977)

President Ford and Counselor Robert Hartmann looking over paperwork concerning the selection of a new vice president, 1974

All of President Ford's's counselors were members of his Cabinet during their respective tenures.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
		Anne Armstrong (1927–2008)	August 9, 1974 – December 18, 1974	Republican
		Dean Burch (1927–1991)	August 9, 1974[7] – December 31, 1974[8]	Republican
		Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)	August 9, 1974[9] – September 19, 1974[10]	Republican
		Robert T. Hartmann[11] (1917–2008)	August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977	Republican
		John Marsh (1926–2019)	August 9, 1974[12] – January 20, 1977[13]	Democratic
		Rogers Morton[14] (1914–1979)	February 2, 1976 – April 1, 1976	Republican

Counselors to President Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)

President Carter did not appoint any counselors during his tenure in the White House.

Counselor	Term of Office	Party
Vacant	January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981	n/a

Counselors to President Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)

President Reagan holds an oval office staff meeting on his first full day in office. Front left, Counselor to the President Edwin Meese.

"The Troika". From left to right: White House Chief of Staff James Baker, Counselor to the President Ed Meese and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver at the White House, December 2, 1981.

President Reagan only appointed a counselor during his first term in the White House.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
		Edwin Meese (born 1931)	January 20, 1981 – February 25, 1985	Republican
Vacant			February 25, 1985 – January 20, 1989

Counselors to President George H.W. Bush (1989–1993)

President Bush only appointed a counselor, who was a member of his Cabinet during the last 11 months of his single term in the White House. The position was vacant for the first 3 years of his presidency.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
Vacant			January 20, 1989 – February 1, 1992
		Clayton Yeutter (1930–2017)	February 1, 1992 – January 20, 1993	Republican

Counselors to President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

Bill Clinton announces the appointment of David Gergen as Counselor to the President, 1993

President Clinton did not appoint a counselor for the first 5 months of his first term. He was the first president in over 20 years whose counselors were not members of his Cabinet.

Counselor			Term of Office	Party
Vacant			January 20, 1993 – May 29, 1993
		David Gergen (born 1942)	May 29, 1993 – June 10, 1994	Republican
Vacant			June 10, 1994 – July 17, 1994
		Mack McLarty (born 1946)	July 17, 1994[15] – June 30, 1998[16]	Democratic
		Bill Curry (born 1951)	February 21, 1995 – January 20, 1997	Democratic
		Paul Begala (born 1961)	August 17, 1997[17] – March 10, 1999	Democratic
		Ann Lewis (born 1937)	March 10, 1999 – January 20, 2001	Democratic

Counselors to President George W. Bush (2001–2009)

Counselor to the President Karen Hughes and First Lady Laura Bush, June 28, 2002.

Counselor to the President Dan Bartlett delivering a briefing on President George W. Bush's State of the Union Message, February 3, 2005.

Counselor to the President Ed Gillespie (right) and Chief of Staff to the Vice President David Addington review a document, December 5, 2007.

President Bush did not appoint a counselor for the last 2 1/2 years of his first term. He continued predecessors footsteps to not include his counselors as members of his Cabinet.

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
		Karen Hughes (born 1956)	January 20, 2001 – July 8, 2002	none	Republican
Vacant			July 8, 2002 – January 5, 2005
		Dan Bartlett (born 1971)	January 5, 2005 – July 5, 2007	Strategic Communication & Policy	Republican
		Ed Gillespie (born 1961)	July 5, 2007 – January 20, 2009	Policy Development and Strategic Planning	Republican

Counselors to President Barack Obama (2009–2017)

Counselor to the President Pete Rouse, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Vice President Joe Biden talk with President Barack Obama, April 2, 2013.

Counselor to the President John Podesta meets with President Obama in the Oval Office, January 29, 2015.

President Obama did not appoint a counselor for the first 2 years of his first term and did not have one for the last 2 years of his second term. He continued predecessors' footsteps to not include his counselors as members of his Cabinet.

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
Vacant			January 20, 2009 – January 13, 2011
		Pete Rouse (born 1946)	January 13, 2011 – January 1, 2014	Legislative Affairs	Democratic
		John Podesta (born 1949)	January 1, 2014 – February 13, 2015	none	Democratic
Vacant			February 13, 2015 – January 20, 2017

Counselors to President Donald Trump (2017–2021)

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway talks to reporters and answers questions outside the West Wing entrance of the White House.

Senior Counselor to the President Steve Bannon appears with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference.

President Trump was the first president since President Gerald Ford to have a counselor throughout the entirety of his tenure.

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
		Steve Bannon (born 1953)[18][19]	January 20, 2017 – August 18, 2017[20]	Political Strategy (as "Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor")	Republican
		Kellyanne Conway (born 1967)[18][19]	January 20, 2017 – August 31, 2020[21]	Political and Polling Strategy (as "Senior Counselor")	Republican
		Johnny DeStefano (born 1979)	February 9, 2018 – May 24, 2019[22][23]	Intergovernmental Affairs and Political Affairs	Republican
		Hope Hicks (born 1988)	March 9, 2020[24] – January 12, 2021[25][26]	Strategic Communications	Republican
		Derek Lyons	May 20, 2020[27] – January 20, 2021[28]	Domestic Policy	Republican

Counselors to President Joe Biden (2021–2025)

Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti (right) meets with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and President Joe Biden in the Oval Office, October 2021.

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
		Jeff Zients (born 1966)	January 20, 2021 – April 4, 2022	COVID Response Coordination	Democratic
		Steve Ricchetti (born c. 1957)	January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025	Legislative & Governmental Relations	Democratic

Counselors to President Donald Trump (2025–present)

Counselor			Term of Office	Portfolio	Party
		Peter Navarro (born 1949)	January 20, 2025 – present	Trade and Manufacturing (as "Senior Counselor")	Republican
		Alina Habba (born 1984)	January 20, 2025 – present	None	Republican

References

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5. Los Angeles Times^{[dead link]}
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19. Senior Counselor
20. "Bannon out as White House chief strategist". Politico. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
21. "Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls)". twitter.com.
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24. Cook, Nancy; McGraw, Meredith (April 27, 2020). "Trump looks to Hope Hicks as coronavirus crisis spills over". Politico. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
25. "Hope Hicks to Return to the White House After a Nearly Two-Year Absence". The New York Times. February 13, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
26. Brown, Pamela; Gangel, Jamie (January 13, 2021). "Top White House adviser Hicks no longer works at the White House, a previously planned departure". CNN. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
27. "Trump taps Brooke Rollins as acting domestic policy chief". May 21, 2020.
28. "Annual Report to Congress on White House Office Personnel" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. June 26, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020 – via National Archives.