White House Presidential Personnel Office

The White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO, sometimes written as Office of Presidential Personnel) is the White House Office tasked with vetting new appointees.[1][2] Its offices are on the first floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C.[2] The PPO is one of the offices most responsible for assessing candidates to work at or for the White House.[3]

The PPO is currently made up of about 30 members, which is only about one third of its usual staff. This office is responsible for approximately 4,000 jobs, of which 1,600 require Senate approval.[4] The White House Presidential Office recruits candidates to serve in departments and agencies throughout the Executive Branch. It presents candidates for PAS positions to the Senate which must also be approved by the President of the United States.[5] The mission of this office is to provide the president with the best applicants possible for presidency-appointed positions. Lastly, it also provides policy guidance for federal department and agency heads on conduct for political activities.[6]

Responsibilities

The Presidential Personnel Office has a number of responsibilities including:

  • handling and processing of recommendations from political figures[6]
  • keeping a talent bank of qualified, cleared candidates on hand[6]
    • the approval of applicants is a long, extensive process[6]
  • search for job candidates
    • executive search[6]
    • screening interviews[6]
    • candidate evaluation[6]
    • security clearance[6]
    • conflict of interest clearance[6]
    • forwarding recommendations to the president[6]

History

The Presidential Personnel Office was previously named the White House Personnel Office (WHPO), and it was created by Frederick V. Malek in 1971, to standardize the White House's hiring process.[7][8] It was renamed to the Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) by President Gerald Ford in 1974.[7][6]

Under President Donald Trump, the professionalism of the PPO was challenged after The Washington Post reported that the office was staffed with largely-inexperienced personnel.[2][9]

Leadership

References
  1. "White House Offices". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 30, 2018. The Presidential Personnel Office recruits, screens, and recommends qualified candidates for Presidential appointments to Federal departments and agencies.
  2. O'Harrow Jr., Robert; Boburg, Shawn (March 30, 2018). "Behind the chaos: Office that vets Trump appointees plagued by inexperience". The Washington Post.
  3. Shirley Anne Warshaw. Powersharing: White House-Cabinet Relations in the Modern Presidency. SUNY Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-4384-2331-9.
  4. Bowden, John (2018-03-30). "Office that vets Trump appointees faces staff shortage, inexperience: report". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  5. "Presidential Departments | The White House". The White House. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  6. "PRESIDENTIAL PERSONNEL OFFICE FILES, (1953-73) 1974-77". Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Retrieved July 30, 2018. However, in 1974, President Ford changed the name of the White House Personnel Office to PPO, and began restructuring the office to focus more on Presidential appointments, relying more on department heads to secure non-Presidential appointments in their departments.
  7. Michael Nelson (1 May 2015). Guide to the Presidency. Routledge. p. 492. ISBN 978-1-135-91462-2.
  8. Naughton, James M. (July 12, 1971). "Nixon's Talent Hunter Also Wields Executive Hatchet". The New York Times.
  9. Bowden, John (March 30, 2018). "Office that vets Trump appointees faces staff shortage, inexperience: report". The Hill.
  10. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Jimmy Carter, 1978, Book 2: June 30 to December 31, 1978. Government Printing Office. p. 1787. ISBN 978-0-16-058934-8.
  11. "JAMES, E. PENDLETON: Files, 1981-1982 – REAGAN LIBRARY COLLECTIONS" (PDF). Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. October 5, 2016. p. 1. When Reagan assumed the Presidency in January 1981, James became head of the Office of Presidential Personnel.
  12. "GEORGE H.W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY GUIDE TO HOLDINGS" (PDF). George Bush Presidential Library. March 8, 2011. p. 86. Charles G. Untermeyer, Assistant to the President and Director 1/21/89–8/24/91 [...] Constance Horner, Assistant to the President and Director 1991–1993
  13. Shirley Anne Warshaw (14 May 2014). The Clinton Years. Infobase Publishing. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-8160-7459-4.
  14. "Board of Directors". Clinton Foundation. Retrieved July 30, 2018. In 1993, Bruce was also director of the Office of Presidential Personnel where he supervised the selection and approval of political appointees in the Cabinet departments and to Presidential boards and commissions.
  15. Epstein, Jennifer (June 25, 2013). "Personnel chief Nancy Hogan to leave the White House". Politico. Hogan briefly served as chief of staff for White House personnel in early 2009, before taking the lead in the office in July 2009.
  16. Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T., eds. (July 8, 2013). "Press Release - White House Announces Nancy Hogan to Step Down; Jonathan McBride to Serve as Assistant to the President & Director of Presidential Personnel". University of California, Santa Barbara. Nancy Hogan was appointed Director of the Presidential Personnel office in August, 2009.
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