The Vanity Fair Writer Who Profiled Trump’s Chief Of Staff Just Answered Questions About It

“In your experience, who has been the most effective Chief of Staff? Secondly, with the multi-decade shift of power and authority to the executive branch, how do you see the role of Chief of Staff evolving over time? This appears, from the outside, to be an enormously consequential role with few official limits and virtually no oversight.”

—Orbitingkittenfarm

“The answer to your first question: In my view, Ronald Reagan’s James Baker and Bill Clinton’s Leon Panetta are the gold standard. Not only could they execute the president’s agenda; they could tell the president hard truths. As for your second question, you’re right: the executive branch is more powerful than ever. Most of the important decisions are made in the West Wing. That makes the White House Chief of Staff more powerful than ever. He, or she, is unelected and unconfirmed and answers to the president alone. For better or worse.”

—vanityfairmagazine