The Office Of Communications

This operates under the Director of Communications.

It conveys the President’s agenda to the public through various media, including speeches and remarks, press briefings, off-the-record discussions with reporters, and social media.

It can include the Office of the Press Secretary (Press Office).

Operational functions of the Office of Communications include scheduling and running press briefings, interviews, meetings, media appearances, speeches, and a range of other events.

The Office of Communications must maintain robust relationships with the press groups, regional stakeholders, and key interest groups.

No legal entitlement exists for the provision of permanent space for media on the executive building.

The next Administration should reexamine the balance between media demands and space constraints on the executive building.

Leadership within the Office of Communications should include a Communications Director (who is a direct report to the Chief of Staff ), a Deputy

The Office of the Staff Secretary

This is rarely visible to the outside world, but it performs work of tremendous importance.

The office is similar to a military commander’s adjutant as it is responsible for fielding and managing a vast amount of information going in and out of the Office.

Because of its gatekeeping function, the position of Staff Secretary is one of extreme trust and is the “honest broker” in the President’s service.

The Office of the Staff Secretary has been described as the last substantive control point before papers reach the President’s Office.

This includes presidential decision memos; bills passed by Congress (which may be accompanied by signing or veto statements); and briefing books, reading materials, samples of constituent mail, personal mail, and drafts of speeches.

The Staff Secretary makes certain that these materials are complete, well-ordered, and up to date before they reach the President.

This necessarily means that the Staff Secretary plays a key role in determining who weighs in on policy matters and when.

The President may have questions after reviewing incoming material, may wish to seek more information, or may demand revisions.

The Staff Secretary is often responsible for directing these requests to the appropriate places and following up on them to ensure that they are completed.

One of the Staff Secretary’s critical functions is managing and overseeing the clearance process for the President’s daily/nightly briefing book. This book is filled with all the reading material and leading documentation the President needs in the morning and the evening to help him make decisions.

The Staff Secretary also oversees the use of the President’s signature, whether by hand or by autopen, and manages the Office of the Executive Clerk, Office of Records Management, and Office of Presidential Correspondence.

Communications Director, a Deputy Director for Strategic Communications, and a Press Secretary. This leadership team must work together closely to drive the national narrative about the White House. The best resource for the Office of Communications is the President.

The President conveys the White House’s overall message through one or two inaugural addresses, State of the Union addresses, speeches to Congress, and press conferences.

The office must also ensure that the various White House offices disseminate a unified message to the public. The Communications Director and Press Secretary in particular should be careful to avoid contradicting the President or delivering conflicting information.

The speechwriting team is a critical component of the communications team. Speechwriting is a unique talent: The writers selected must understand policy, should have a firm grasp of history and other liberal-arts disciplines, and should be able to learn and adopt the President’s style of rhetoric and mode of delivery.

The Press Secretary is the President’s spokesperson, communicating to the American people through the media.

The Press Secretary engages with the White House Press Corps formally through press briefings and informally through impromptu gaggles and meetings. Individuals who serve in this role must be quick on their feet, which means, when appropriate, deftly refuting and rebutting corre- spondents’ questions and comments.

The Communications Director must convey the President’s mission to the American people. Especially for conservatives, this means navigating the main stream media to ensure that the President’s agenda is conveyed effectively and accurately.

The Communications Director must be politically savvy and very aware of the ongoing activities of the other White House offices. The new Administration should examine the nature of the relationship between itself and the White House Correspondents Association and consider whether an alternative coordinating body might be more suitable.