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1-Page Summary of The Gatekeepers
Overview
There’s a story about the Eisenhower Administration. A staffer supposedly came running up to him with an envelope marked “private and confidential.”
A staffer was surprised when President Eisenhower yelled at him. He asked the president why he had yelled and Eisenhower replied, “Never bring me a sealed envelope because I have aides for that.” The president believed in having structures to ensure that nothing came as a surprise to him. This meant he needed capable, trustworthy and intelligent staff upon whom he could rely.
The chief of staff role in the White House is one that embodies the concept of gatekeeper. At first, it was a relatively informal position, but now it’s seen as one of the most important posts in the White House. You’ll see how this position has evolved over time and what makes it so powerful. One thing will become clear: It isn’t necessarily who holds power, but rather who lets them hold onto it.
Big Idea #1: The role of chief of staff took its current form during Richard Nixon’s presidency.
Richard Nixon’s reputation isn’t great these days, but he was a modern president who used the chief of staff model. His predecessor Lyndon B. Johnson hated that idea and handled all the organizational aspects of his presidency himself, which made him overworked and distracted. Nixon decided not to make those same mistakes by using a dedicated chief of staff.
Because of this, Nixon turned to H. R. Haldeman for help. He was the president’s chief of staff and he shaped the role into what we know it as today.
Haldeman put a stop to the process of gaining access to the president through other people by first talking to Nixon’s chief of staff, Bob Haldeman. This way, Nixon could focus on his main policy aims and be more effective in governing.
It was also Haldeman’s responsibility to keep Nixon on the right side of the law. He wasn’t always successful at that, however. The tape recorders Nixon installed in the Oval Office provided evidence that he wanted to illegally break into Brookings and steal documents from them.
On that occasion, Haldeman managed to stop Nixon from authorizing the raid. However, he couldn’t always keep him under control because sometimes Nixon became neurotic.
The White House became involved in a scandal known as Watergate, which was named after the hotel where it took place. The people who broke into the Democratic National Committee’s offices were paid for their work. Nixon approved those payments and he was eventually caught on tape doing so.
Even though Haldeman wasn’t ultimately successful, he’d set the standard for how White House staff members would be organized.
Big Idea #2: After Nixon’s resignation, Donald Rumsfeld became chief of staff for the new president, Gerald Ford.
The release of the White House tapes in 1974 led to Nixon’s resignation. He was either going to resign or be impeached, so he resigned instead. His vice president at the time, Gerald Ford, took over as president. However, his presidency started off shaky because he pardoned Nixon for any possible crimes that would have been considered illegal after taking office.
To combat the problem, Ford turned to Donald Rumsfeld. He was known for being a no-nonsense disciplinarian who could run an efficient machine. His time in Congress gave him experience at running things efficiently, and he was the man for the job.
However, Rumsfeld had three conditions. He wanted complete authority over the president’s schedule and he would take on a cabinet position as soon as one became available.
Ford agreed with Rumsfeld’s plan. He decided to delegate many tasks to his young deputy, Dick Cheney. They kept close to Haldeman’s playbook: schedules were tight, agendas meticulous, and the president was only given information relevant to the situation.
