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Full-Text Articles in Public Administration
White House Staff, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos
White House Staff, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos
José D. Villalobos
The White House Staff provides the bureaucratic framework that makes presidential leadership possible. Even though modern presidents continue to face constraints by the constitutional structure and political reality in successfully straddling the expectations gap that continues to enlarge, the staff presents the president with his best opportunity to anticipate and exploit leadership opportunities in the best case and manage crisis and cope with challenges in the worst. In recent decades, scholarly efforts to analyze the influence and importance of the White House staff has continued apace the institution’s own evolution. In this chapter, we evaluate the state of these efforts …
Revolt Against The Czars: Why Barack Obama’S Staffing Critics Are (Mostly) Wrong, José D. Villalobos, Justin S. Vaughn
Revolt Against The Czars: Why Barack Obama’S Staffing Critics Are (Mostly) Wrong, José D. Villalobos, Justin S. Vaughn
José D. Villalobos
Rather than view the alleged proliferation of “czars” in recent presidential administrations as a threat to the constitutional order, we consider it part of an ongoing reorganization of the presidential branch designed to maximize leadership capacity as presidents continue to take more responsibility for policy development and implementation, a phenomenon driven as much by congressional abdication as presidential zeal for power. The real debate lies over whether the president can delegate his constitutional authority to those who work beneath him. We posit that presidents may choose to delegate within their own discretion, so long as it is within the limits …