Executive Office of the President

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) is a group of agencies that advise and assist the president. The White House chief of staff is the close aide to the president who oversees the EOP. The chief of staff is typically the president's closest advisor as well as the president's gatekeeper, controlling access to the president and working to make sure the president's agenda is carried out. The EOP includes several important agencies. Since the Richard Nixon administration (1969–74), presidents have relied increasingly on the EOP rather than the cabinet to implement desired policies.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), established in 1970, is the agency that plays a key role in helping implement the president's agenda by developing a budget and carrying out related policy tasks. It works in five key areas:

• Developing and executing the budget submitted to Congress by the president
• Managing and overseeing agencies as well as federal procurement, financial management, and information technology
• Coordinating and reviewing regulatory policy including federal regulations by executive agencies
• Coordinating and clearing legislative proposals by ensuring they are in line with the president's agenda
• Coordinating executive orders and presidential memoranda

The National Security Council (NSC), established in 1947, is the body tasked with advising the president on national security matters and foreign policy. The council is chaired by the president and includes the vice president and the secretaries of state, defense, and energy. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence serve on the NSC, as do the president's national security advisor and other members of the White House staff and executive departments. The council also aids the president in coordinating national security policies among various agencies.

The Council of Economic Advisors, established in 1946, is the group that provides the president with objective advice on both domestic and international economic policy. The council consists of three members appointed by the president. They lead a professional staff charged with using sound economic research and evidence to make recommendations to the president on economic policy. They also assist the president in writing the president's economic report, an annual report on the country's economic progress. While the council works directly for the president, its role is not to push the president's agenda, but rather to provide unbiased advice on the economic effects of the president's policies.

The EOP can include other agencies as well. All are not present in every administration, as different presidential priorities bring different policy areas to the forefront or background of administration activity.