White House Shake Up: Who's In? Who's Out?

On Jan. 6, President Obama named William M. Daley, a senior executive with JPMorgan Chase and a former commerce secretary in the Clinton administration, as his new chief of staff. Daley, brother of outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, is expected to bring an outside voice - and strong business ties - to the White House.
Mr. Obama said he selected Daley partially because "he possesses a deep understanding of how jobs are created and how to grow our economy."

PETE ROUSE

Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Peter Rouse — AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

When Rahm Emanuel left the White House in October to pursue a bid for Chicago mayor, senior adviser Pete Rouse replaced him as interim chief of staff. But according to President Obama, Rouse made it clear he was not interested in staying on in the role in the long term. Instead, he will take on a role as counselor to the president.

ROBERT GIBBS

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, announced on Jan. 5 that he would be leaving the administration in February - but said he will continue to work for President Obama as a private sector consultant to his re-election campaign.

Gibbs described the recent comings and goings in the White House as "a pretty major retooling" of the senior staff. "It's a good time to get some fresh voices, including somebody up here," he said, referring to the spokesman's podium. Yet, he added, "I would not trade the worst day I've had here for many of the best days you might have had in another job."

DAVID AXELROD

Longtime senior Obama adviser David Axelrod announced last fall that he'll be heading back to Chicago this year to get started on the president's re-election campaign. Like he did in 2008, Axelrod is expected to play a big part in Mr. Obama's 2012 campaign.

DAVID PLOUFFE

David Plouffe, who served as President Obama's campaign manager in the 2008 election, is joining the White House staff to serve as an adviser to the president. Plouffe is largely expected to eventually fill the shoes of David Axelrod -- who is leaving the White House later this year.

Plouffe spent the past two years working as a senior adviser for AKPD, the Chicago-based political-consulting group that Axelrod founded.

LAWRENCE SUMMERS

White House chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers announced last fall that, following the 2010 midterm elections, he would be stepping down from his post as director of the National Economic Council. Summers, who went on a leave of absence from Harvard University in order to serve on the Obama administration, will return to the institution.

RON KLAIN

Ron Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, confirmed on Jan. 4 that he, too, will be leaving the White House. Klain, seen here with actor Kevin Spacey, is a longtime adviser to Biden and former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore. He is now taking a job to be the president of Case Holdings - the parent company of AOL co-founder and former chairman Steve Case's investment company.

GENE SPERLING

President Obama named Treasury official Gene Sperling as his new chief economic adviser on January 7, replacing the outgoing Larry Summers. Sperling will become director of the National Economic Council for the second time in his career -- he previously held the position in the Clinton administration.

JAY CARNEY

On January 27, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley announced that the president had chosen Jay Carney, a former Time magazine journalist and the communications director to Vice President Biden, to replace Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary.

Gibbs, who announced he was stepping down on January 5th, is expected to leave the White House in early or mid-February.

STEPHANIE CUTTER

Also on January 27, veteran Democratic communications aide Stephanie Cutter was named Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Adviser. She had previously been working as Assistant to the President for Special Projects. Cutter served as Deputy Communications Director under the Clinton administration, and was Michelle Obama's chief of staff during the 2008 general election campaign.

NANCY-ANN DEPARLE

Nancy-Ann DeParle (far left), until recently the director of the White House Office of Health Reform, was on Jan. 27 named named Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. DeParle served as the director of the Health Care Financing Administration from 1997 to 2000, and prior to that worked at the Office of Management and Budget.