White House Staff

Dana Power
Assistant to the President for Communications

Dennis Athey
Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff

Dan O'Sullivan
Deputy Chief of Staff, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President

Mary Nemeth
Assistant to the President for Speechwriting and Policy Advisor

Ed Petzold
Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff

Drew O'Brien
Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary

Judith Kanheman
Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary

Karen Lawn
Assistant to the President and White House Counsel

Marcia Mandi
Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs

Colleen Ryan
Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady

Sonny Yocius
Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary

Helen Doster
Deputy Assistant to the President for Communications

Eric Corbin
Deputy Assistant to the President, Assistant to the Vice President

Chris Varga
Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs

Matt Flaig
Assistant to the Vice President and Chief of Staff

Salvatore Lawless
Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel

Brett Newbanks
Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy

Tom Wadsworth
Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Public Liaison

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Brett Newbanks

Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy

Brett Newbanks was born in 1961 and grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, graduating from Harvard University and earning his J.D. from the University of Virginia. He has family connections with the POTUS and FLOTUS.

Newbanks has worked as a congressional chief of staff and practiced law at the firm of Jefferson, Tyler & Blackwell. He also founded Civic Directions, a group that works with corporations, non-profit organizations and foundations on public policy issues.

Newbanks is known to be dating Colleen Ryan and there are rumors the two may soon be engaged. Since the two work in separate Offices, this has not attracted official negative attention, but as they work closely together in practice, there has been some grumbling. Apparently Ryan was willing to go into the private sector, but the VPOTUS and POTUS asked her strongly to stay as she is one of the few people who gets along with the FLOTUS.

Newbanks served as deputy policy director for the Kent 2006 presidential campaign; the following year, Newbanks co-directed the policy transition for the Kent-Russo team and became Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Domestic Policy Council

The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) coordinates the domestic policy-making process in the White House and offers policy advice to the President. The DPC also works to ensure that domestic policy initiatives are coordinated and consistent throughout federal agencies. Finally, the DPC monitors the implementation of domestic policy, and represents the President's priorities to other branches of government.
Although the name has changed throughout the years, a domestic policy staff has existed in the White House since the 1960s. A foundation for the current Domestic Policy Council (DPC) was first created in the Johnson White House, when a senior level aide spent a majority of his time developing domestic policy and attempting to organize a staff to facilitate that activity. In 1970, President Nixon issued an executive order creating the 'Office of Policy Development,' a larger White House office that currently oversees the National Economic Council and the Domestic Policy Council. The "Domestic Policy Council," as it is known today, was created by Executive Order in 1993.
Under President Kent, the Domestic Policy Council oversees major domestic policy areas such as education, health, housing, welfare, justice, federalism, transportation, environment, labor and veteran’s affairs. The Domestic Policy Council's formal membership includes the cabinet Secretaries and Administrators of federal agencies that impact the issues addressed by the DPC.