Counselor to the President

**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.

### Counselors to President Richard Nixon (1969–1974)

All of President Nixon's counselors were members of his Cabinet during their respective tenures.
|colspan="3"|Counselor|Term of Office|Party|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Arthur F. Burns (1904–1987)|January 20, 1969 – November 5, 1969|Republican|
||Pat Moynihan (1927–2003)|November 5, 1969 – December 31, 1970|Democratic|
||Bryce Harlow (1916–1987)|November 5, 1969 – December 9, 1970|Republican|
||Robert Finch (1925–1995)|June 23, 1970 – December 15, 1972|Republican|
||Donald Rumsfeld (1932–2021)|December 11, 1970 – October 15, 1971|Republican|
||Anne Armstrong (1927–2008)|January 19, 1973 – August 9, 1974|Republican|
||Dean Burch (1927–1991)|March 8, 1974 – August 9, 1974|Republican|
||Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)|May 29, 1974 – August 9, 1974|Republican|

### Counselors to President Gerald Ford (1974–1977)

All of President Ford's's counselors were members of his Cabinet during their respective tenures.
|colspan="3"|Counselor|Term of Office|Party|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Anne Armstrong (1927–2008)|August 9, 1974 – December 18, 1974|Republican|
||Dean Burch (1927–1991)|August 9, 1974 – December 31, 1974|Republican|
||Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)|August 9, 1974 – September 19, 1974|Republican|
||Robert T. Hartmann (1917–2008)|August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977|Republican|
||John Marsh (1926–2019)|August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977|Democratic|
||Rogers Morton (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 only appointed a counselor during his first term in the White House.
|colspan="3"|Counselor|Term of Office|Party|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Edwin Meese (born 1931)|January 20, 1981 – February 25, 1985|Republican|
|colspan=3|_Vacant_|colspan= 2|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.
|colspan="3"|Counselor|Term of Office|Party|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan=3|_Vacant_|colspan=2|January 20, 1989 – February 1, 1992|
||Clayton Yeutter (1930–2017)|February 1, 1992 – January 20, 1993|Republican|

### Counselors to President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

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.
|colspan="3"|Counselor|Term of Office|Party|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan=3|_Vacant_|colspan=2|January 20, 1993 – May 29, 1993|
||David Gergen (born 1942)|May 29, 1993 – June 10, 1994|Republican|
|colspan=3|_Vacant_|colspan=2|June 10, 1994 – July 17, 1994|
||Mack McLarty (born 1946)|July 17, 1994 – June 30, 1998|Democratic|
||Bill Curry (born 1951)|February 21, 1995 – January 20, 1997|Democratic|
||Paul Begala (born 1961)|August 17, 1997 – March 10, 1999|Democratic|
||Ann Lewis (born 1937)|March 10, 1999 – January 20, 2001|Democratic|

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

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.
|colspan="3"|Counselor|Term of Office|Portfolio|Party|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Karen Hughes (born 1956)|January 20, 2001 – July 8, 2002|_none_|Republican|
|colspan=3|_Vacant_|colspan=3|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)

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.
|colspan="3"|Counselor|Term of Office|Portfolio|Party|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan=3|_Vacant_|colspan=3|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|
|colspan=3|_Vacant_|colspan=3|February 13, 2015 – January 20, 2017||

### Counselors to President Donald Trump (2017–2021)

President Trump was the first president since President Gerald Ford to have a counselor throughout the entirety of his tenure.
|colspan="3"|Counselor|Term of Office|Portfolio|Party||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|||Steve Bannon (born 1953)|January 20, 2017 – August 18, 2017|Political Strategy (as "Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor")|Republican|
||(born 1967)|January 20, 2017 – August 31, 2020|Political and Polling Strategy (as "Senior Counselor")|Republican||
||Johnny DeStefano (born 1979)|February 9, 2018 – May 24, 2019|Intergovernmental Affairs and Political Affairs|Republican||
||Hope Hicks (born 1988)|March 9, 2020 – January 12, 2021|Strategic Communications|Republican||
||Derek Lyons|May 20, 2020 – January 20, 2021|Domestic Policy|Republican||

### Counselors to President Joe Biden (2021–2025)

|colspan="3"|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)

|colspan="3"|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|

## Infobox (us cabinet)

- **post**: Counselor to the President
- **insignia**: The White House logo under Trump 2.0.jpg
- **insigniasize**: 150px
- **incumbent**: Alina Habba (left)
Peter Navarro (right)
- **incumbentsince**: January 20, 2025
- **department**: Executive Office of the President
White House Office
- **appointer**: President of the United States
- **first**: Arthur F. Burns
- **website**: [https://www.whitehouse.gov/ The White House]
- **reports to**: President of the United States