White House Chief of Staff

The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking position in the White House staff. The chief of staff assists the President of the United States in many duties, including as a formal member of the Cabinet and often sits with the President in the Situation Room. The Chief of Staff is often referred to as the second most powerful person in Washington.

For most of the series, the Chief of Staff is Leo McGarry. For the last two years of the Bartlet Administration, C.J. Cregg is Chief of Staff, while McGarry starts tackling other roles, including senior counselor to the president, organizer of the 2006 Democratic National Convention, and candidate for Vice President. After Matt Santos is elected president, Josh Lyman is named Chief of Staff.

Within the West Wing universe, the Chief of Staff plays a much more powerful role than most real-life Chiefs of Staff play. For example, McGarry and Cregg are portrayed as senior national security officials, while the National Security Advisor herself serves a comparably minor role. In actuality, the White House Chief of Staff usually defers to the president's national security team on most foreign policy decisions.

"If I were to stand on high ground in Key West with a good pair of binoculars, I would be as informed as I am right now." - Leo McGarry This article is a stub. You can help The West Wing Wiki by adding to it. There may be further information about changes that need to be made on the article's talk page.

List of Notable White House Chiefs of StaffEdit

Image	Chief of Staff	Party	Timeline	Served Under	Source
	Leo Thomas McGarry	Democratic	January 20, 1999 — September 2005	Josiah Bartlet	Pilot; The Birnam Wood
				Glen Allen Walken
				Josiah Bartlet
	Claudia Jean Cregg	Democratic	September 2005 — January 20, 2007		Third Day Story; Tomorrow
	Joshua Lyman	Democratic	January 20, 2007 — Present	Matt Santos	Tomorrow