WASHINGTON — A year before Election Day, President Barack Obama has realigned the West Wing to consolidate power among his closest and most trusted campaign advisers, putting confidant Pete Rouse at the center of White House operations.
Obama began the realignment a month ago, administration officials said, when he asked Rouse to write a plan for the final year of his term with a focus on whether all corners of the administration were delivering a cohesive message. The president concluded that they were not and that Rouse could solve the problem by resuming some of the duties he had performed during the first two years of the administration, before the arrival of the current chief of staff, William Daley.
Daley announced during a staff meeting Monday that he will turn over several major responsibilities, including some day-to-day management of the West Wing, to Rouse.
Denver Post wire services
