Skip to main content

Joe Biden's real inner circle: West Wing office plan shows who wields power in his administration and how his adviser sister Valerie doesn't make the cut

Joe Biden has installed his longtime aides and campaign staff in power positions in the West Wing, keeping his allies close to him as he begins his presidency.

Notably missing is his sister Valerie Biden Owens, a longtime adviser to Biden who was campaign manager for his Senate races along with his 1988 and 2008 presidential bids. She was a senior adviser to his 2020 campaign.

But maps of the West Wing from Politico and CNN show no office location for the presidential sister. Biden's predecessor, President Donald Trump, installed his daughter and son-in-law in posh West Wing offices. 

Biden Owens is expected to play a counselor role in the administration.

'Valerie is the President's oldest and closest political advisor,' Hilary Rosen, the longtime Democratic strategist who is close to the Bidens and serves as VP at SKDKnickerbocker told DailyMail.com. 'That will never change. Nonetheless, she is the first to know that his role is different now and so is hers. But she is insightful, smart and touchstone on him staying true to his roots. She is close to the senior Biden team and a valuable counselor for all of them.'

In the White House, proximity is power. In the hallways a person can have a casual run-in with a superior or another person of influence - even the president himself - that change change policy or strategy. 

West Wing office space is some of the most valuable real estate in the world. Staff compete for closet sized-spaces and cram into windowless rooms together, desks side by side, in order to be close to the president. 

WHO HAS A PLACE IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER 

1) President Joe Biden. As president he has the Oval Office and the president's private dining room just off it

2) Vice President Kamala Harris. The second-largest office goes to the VP but puts her relatively far away from the Oval

3) Chief of Staff Ron Klain. The third-largest office with a prime corner overlooking the Rose Garden goes to the most powerful official. Veteran D.C. staffer was Biden's chief of staff as vice president, 2009-2011, and worked with him in the Senate

4) Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti. Chairman of Biden's campaign and Biden's chief of staff for the second Obama term. Proximity to Biden shows his importance. His brother Jeff is one of D.C.'s most powerful lobbyists

5) Senior adviser Mike Donilon. He is physically the closest to the president and has been an aide on and off since 1981, making him Biden's oldest friend in the White House. He came up with Biden's campaign theme of 'soul of the nation'

6) National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. One of the few from Hillary Clinton's inner circle in the Biden White House, he was also an architect of the Iran nuclear deal at the State Department

7) Senior Advisor Anita Dunn. Veteran D.C. Democratic operative who first worked in Carter's White House and was one of Obama's top four advisers in 2008. Offered PR advice to Harvey Weinstein as his sex shame was about to be revealed

8) Communications director Kate Bedingfield. Bedingfield worked as Biden's communications director from 2015 to 2017 and then was deputy campaign manager for his presidential run 

9) Press secretary Jen Psaki. Psaki's office is always held by the press secretary because of its proximity to the briefing room. Psaki was Obama's communications director and a State Department press secretary in his administration

10) Director of Oval Office Operations Annie Tomasini. Has to keep meetings on time and have the right people in the Oval Office with Biden. Was his traveling chief of staff during campaign and one of the few aides allowed in his house

11) Personal aide to the president Stephen Goepfert. Biden's 'body man,' who should be near his side at all times. Worked in the Obama White House dealing with correspondence and was an aide to Biden's office until 2017.  

12) Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed. Biden's chief of staff from 201 to 2013 and a long-term Democratic aide who worked in the Clinton White House where he became an ally of Biden, working on the now-notorious 1994 Crime Bill

13) Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Jen O'Malley Dillon. Became Biden's campaign manager in April after overseeing Beto O'Rourke's failed run. Newest member of his inner circle

14) White House Counsel Dana Remus. Key legal adviser to the president. She was a deputy White House counsel under Obama and then worked for the Obama Foundation before being Biden's campaign general counsel

15) Director of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond. Former Louisiana congressman and Biden ally whose job is to make alliances which Biden can use to press lawmakers to get behind his legislation

16) Deputy Director of Public Engagement Adrian Saenz. Latino media advisor to Biden during his campaign, he managed Obama's relationship with state governors and worked on both Obama campaigns

17) Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice. Obama's UN ambassador and national security advisor. Now in charge of domestic policy, particularly racial equality. Role is not Senate confirmed; Rice's Benghazi record is controversial 

18) COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients. A counselor to the president, he is the most powerful COVID figure. Veteran management consultant worked in the Obama White House and after leaving it was on Facebook's board

Some names on the West Wing office roster are obvious.  

Vice President Kamala Harris and Chief of Staff Ron Klain both have large office suites down the hall from the Oval Office. Harris also has a large office suite in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across the driveway from the West Wing where the ceremonial office of the vice president is located.  

Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, longtime Biden advisers serving as advisers in the administration, have the small power offices just steps from the Oval Office. Jared Kushner controlled that space in the Trump White House. 

Jennifer O'Malley Dillon and Bruce Reed, who serve as deputy chiefs of staff, also sit in the narrow alcoves with close access to the Oval.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has a large corner office.

In a different corner are the press offices where press secretary Jen Psaki, the public face of the administration, has a large office. In the adjoining offices are communications director Kate Bedingfield and adviser Anita Dunn.

Simply getting space in the West Wing, no matter how cramped or small, is a sign of status and reflects the president's agenda.  

Valerie Biden Owens, a longtime adviser to Joe Biden who was campaign manager for his Senate races along with his 1988 and 2008 presidential bids, has no West Wing office space - she is seen with her brother in October on the campaign trail

Valerie Biden Owens, a longtime adviser to Joe Biden who was campaign manager for his Senate races along with his 1988 and 2008 presidential bids, has no West Wing office space - she is seen with her brother in October on the campaign trail

President Joe Biden's West Wing is quieter than most as most aides work from home due to COVID and those in the White House, including the president, wear face masks

President Joe Biden's West Wing is quieter than most as most aides work from home due to COVID and those in the White House, including the president, wear face masks

The West Wing of the White House - the presence of a Marine out front means the president is working in the Oval Office

The West Wing of the White House - the presence of a Marine out front means the president is working in the Oval Office

Valerie Biden with Joe Biden in 2019 - the two siblings are close but, unlike President Trump, Biden did not install any family members in his West Wing

Valerie Biden with Joe Biden in 2019 - the two siblings are close but, unlike President Trump, Biden did not install any family members in his West Wing

Jeff Zients, the COVID response coordinator, has an office on the second floor, highlighting the administration's work on the pandemic. Ivanka Trump sat on the second floor while her father was president.

Cedric Richmond, Biden's director of the office of public engagement, is also on the second floor. 

'In the West Wing, I get off the elevator and turn right,' he told Politico's Playbook last week about where his office is located. 'The offices, they don't have any numbers anything else,' he noted, joking he may be getting hazed by colleagues.

Unlike President Donald Trump, where the West Wing was dominated by the competing power centers of presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, former counselor Steve Bannon and whoever occupied the chief of staff's office, Biden runs a more traditional White House.

The emphasis is on organization instead of chaos.  

There will be no Oval Office drop ins during the Biden presidency, like there were in the Trump-era. Instead Klain and Annie Tomasini, the director of Oval Office Operations who sits right outside the Oval, will keep a tight rein on who receives presidential access.  

But the COVID pandemic has affected West Wing operations. Instead of the hustle and bustle of staff speed walking through hallways - as seen on NBC's West Wing and in other political television shows and movies - the Biden White House is quieter.

And that's because a majority of White House staff are working from home due the coronavirus pandemic, which has changed presidential operations and left many desks empty.

The senior staff meeting, for example, takes place each morning around 7:30 or 8 am via video chat.  

Staff and media must be tested for COVID before entering White House and wear a wrist band - the green ones are seen above on reporters - to show they are negative

Staff and media must be tested for COVID before entering White House and wear a wrist band - the green ones are seen above on reporters - to show they are negative

Tape is being placed at events to make sure participants stay six feet apart; tape can be seen below Dr. Anthony Fauci's feet above when he joined President Biden and Vice President Harris at the White House last week

Tape is being placed at events to make sure participants stay six feet apart; tape can be seen below Dr. Anthony Fauci's feet above when he joined President Biden and Vice President Harris at the White House last week

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin join President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Monday where they wore face masks and observed social distancing

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin join President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Monday where they wore face masks and observed social distancing

Change is normal when a new administration takes over but the Biden White House looks different from its predecessors in ways large and small.

Some of the changes are minor - the televisions now are mainly tuned into CNN and MSNBC instead of Fox News.

Others are larger and many due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Much of the work being done in the White House is being done virtually via conference calls, video meetings, and email. 

Many staff have at least been to the White House - they needed to stop in order to pickup their government-issue computers, cell phones, and hard pass - but then returned to their work from home status.

Top-level staff and those essential to national security are in the building but many mid and lower tier aides are at home, a marked change from the Trump era. 

Plexiglass barriers have been mounted on desks of those working in the West Wing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Additionally, staff and the president alike wear face masks. Oval Office photo ops, which were jam-packed events in the Trump era, look sparse under the new president. 

When Biden signed Monday's order allowing openly transgender people to serve in the military, he only had three others with him -  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Harris, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. All wore face masks and used social distancing. 

COVID testing is also mandatory for staff and media. The testing center is outside the White House complex and a person needs a wrist band confirming a negative result before going through the security gate to enter 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Psaki said during her first press briefing last week that all staff entering the complex will be required to undergo a COVID test, wear an N95 mask and adhere to social distancing guidelines. 

'The President has asked us to also be models to the American people, and that's vitally important to us as well,' she said.

more videos

Boris Johnson reveals 'grim statistic' of 100,000 covid deaths

Katie Price: 'I wanted to show trolls how vulnerable Harvey is'

Terrifying moment a bear chases a skier across a slope

Maskless covid denier removed from hospital ward by security

Multiple car crashes occur on snowy Uxbridge junction

Von der Leyen: 'Europe determined to contribute to global common good'

Incredible moment carpet python effortlessly climbs up a tree

Boris Johnson expects EU 'to honour all contracts' for Covid vaccines

Girl fatally stabbed during fight with another teen in Walmart

Hero dog wearing a life jacket rescues boy from drowning in SA

Shadow Health Secretary: 'We didn't have to be in this situation'

Fishing group have incredible close encounter with great white shark

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o