Shuffling staff, Obama strives for a recharge after a tough fifth year.
A number of key aides to President Barack Obama will leave the White House as the president begins 2014 after a year of little political success.
As the trusted West Wing advisors leave, Obama should prepare to look for replacements, probably “outside his comfort zone,” The Hill reported Wednesday.
Å“I suspect that we may have additional announcements in the New Year,” Obama said in his end-of-the-year news conference. Å“Thereâ„¢s a natural turnover that takes place. People get tired. People get worn out. Sometimes, you need fresh legs.”
Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors is the biggest name expected to part with the White House. He was the key advisor on every major negotiation the administration has had with Congress.
Nabors is Å“considering” leaving the West Wing, Reuters reported last month. He is expected to leave in the next few months.
Deputy chief of staff Alyssa Mastromonaco, who has served Obama for nine years, is also a departure candidate.
The departure of these two aides will leave Obama without his closest aides, one former senior administration official said.
Å“I think the president really respects him,” the official said of Nabors, Å“and you see that in the amount of access and input he has, from foreign policy to domestic policy and everything in-between.”
Strategists believe that normally President Obama has a hard time reaching out of his Å“bubble” to ask for help or advice.
POLITICO has predicted six of the coming forces to the White House:
David Simas ” deputy senior adviser for communications & strategy
Katie Beirne Fallon ” director of legislative affairs
Kurt DelBene ” chief of HealthCare.gov overhaul
Steve Ricchetti ” chief of staff to the vice president
Jake Sullivan ” national security adviser to the vice president
Brian Deese ” deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget
President Obama needs an image boost in the 2014 midterm elections in order to make sure his party does not lose its majority in the Senate.
The president has not made it clear whether the changes are meant to make fundamental policy changes or simply execute the same approach more effectively.
AN/HJ
Source: Press TV