Despite a truncated transition, the newly elected Biden administration engaged in a vigorous effort to staff the government, so much so that a record-breaking 1,136 appointees were sworn in on Inauguration Day. Transition chair and former U.S. Senator Ted Kaufman boasted that this figure was more than the prior two administrations combined in their first 100 days.
The women and men who work for the president rank among the most influential unelected government employees. They serve as pivotal decisionmakers advising the president on all manner of policy and politics. Providing information on their backgrounds and tenure in the White House expands our understanding of the American presidency and its performance in the 21st century.
This website includes 100 key staff positions in the Executive Office of the President--a subset of the aforementioned appointments that includes the most influential positions announced within the “first 100 days” timeframe. The information provided sheds light on gender and racial diversity as well as additional biographical information (e.g., whether these individuals previously worked in the White House, on the campaign, or in the executive branch). In addition, links to relevant Miller Center oral histories are included so that readers can learn more about a specific position or role in the White House.
Note that there is no publicly available White House listing of “influential positions,” so I have relied on the National Journal’s prior editions of “Decision Makers.” This special edition was devoted to introducing the most influential members of the Executive Office of the President to the Washington community and published midway through the first year for Presidents Reagan through Obama (1981, 1989, 1993, 2001, and 2009). I took an inventory of every influential position and identified Biden staff members that matched those same positions. In some cases, the position no longer existed, or titles had changed substantially such that there was no match. In other cases, I added newly created positions that President Biden has prioritized (e.g., Covid 19 Response Team Coordinator).
This website includes 100 individuals, some of whom possess the same title, albeit with a different portfolio (e.g., Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy White House Counsel). Admittedly, others might select a different set of 100 key staff members. Observing White House staffing from the “outside in” makes most any approach to creating this list an imperfect one. However, this endeavor is rooted in historical comparisons, relies on a single, consistent source (National Journal), and provides a sound starting point for learning more about the men and women who advise the president on a regular basis.
| Demographics | Male | Female | Total |
| Asian | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Black | 2 | 13 | 15 |
| Hispanic | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| White | 30 | 31 | 61 |
| Unknown | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 44 | 56 | 100 |
To view demographics data on individual appointees in a filterable table format, visit the Demographics Data page.
| Featured stats | Total |
| Average age | 46 |
| Graduate degree | 78 |
| Prior exec. branch experience | 77 |
| Worked on the campaign or transition | 61 |
| Worked in Obama administration | 73 |
Methodological notes: We determined age by accessing public websites, but when information was elusive, we utilized college graduation date to estimate age. Though various staff members were announced on a variety of dates, we use the starting date of 1/20/21 for all those announced before the inauguration. Those announced after the inauguration have a specific starting date. In some cases, a staff member requires Senate confirmation, and we will update their starting date to reflect the date of confirmation. Finally, given the first 100 days timeframe, it is important to note that there are two outstanding positions in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that have yet to be named and are excluded from this list: director of the OMB and administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). These two positions are influential and important, but no nominee was announced within the 100-day timeframe (January 20-April 30, 2021). Special thanks to Maria Geroukos and Grant Koehl for expert research assistance.
Sources: News reports, press releases from the Biden Administration transition website, White House press releases, interviews and Leadership Connect (an online source for staffing information).
