The latest is Susie Wiles, who had served 655 days, longer than 23 of the 39 other tenures, when Trump named Stephen Miller to replace her on Nov. 6; Miller starts Nov. 9, 2026. One aide outside the count did stay: Kenneth O’Donnell, whom Wikipedia lists as Kennedy’s de facto chief, served until the assassination.
all 40the 10 who started with their president
6 of the 10first-day chiefs served more than 655 days
23 of all 40 tenures had ended. The last to end before day 655: Bowles, at 638 days (home to N.C.).
Drag to a number of days. Gray bars ended sooner; the gold mark shows that day on each bar. Tap a bar to see how that chief left.
Half of all 40 tenures lasted less than 532 days; 13 ended within a year, 5 of those because the presidency ended. The longest is still the first: Truman’s John Steelman, 2,231 days.
Newest at the top. Each bar runs from a chief’s first day in the job to the last. * Acting chief. † De facto chief (Wikipedia; Ballotpedia lists none). Started on their president’s first day. Gray: shorter than the slider’s day.
The chief of staff runs the president’s staff. Half of the 40 tenures since 1946 lasted less than 532 days; 13 ended within a year, and Truman’s John Steelman served longest, 2,231 days. The post dates to 1946, when it was called Assistant to the President. Carter went without a chief until 1979, when he gave the title to Hamilton Jordan. Ballotpedia lists the core duties: hiring the staff, keeping the president’s schedule, controlling what information reaches the president, and advising on politics and policy. Trump named Miller, his deputy chief of staff, on Nov. 6, after Republican losses in the midterm elections, NPR reports. Trump wrote that Wiles would move to his political operation; Ballotpedia notes she was the first woman to hold the job.
Each bar is one tenure, with dates from Wikipedia’s list of chiefs of staff and years cross-checked against Ballotpedia. Both lists begin with John Steelman, Truman’s Assistant to the President from Dec. 12, 1946. Wikipedia lists six de facto chiefs for Kennedy and Johnson, marked †, and Ballotpedia lists none. James Baker served twice and has two bars, so the 40 tenures belong to 39 people. The two acting chiefs, Pete Rouse and Mick Mulvaney, are marked with an asterisk.
“Served until the presidency ended” means the tenure ended on the day that presidency did. “Took another government post” means the record names the next post, including counselor to the president (McLarty, Rouse, and Sununu, who stayed on as counselor for 11 weeks after resigning). Everyone else is under “Left without a new government post.”
Days are the end date minus the start date. The slider counts days in the job: by day N, a chief whose tenure was shorter than N days had left, and the gold notch on each remaining bar marks day N of that tenure. Some sources date a departure differently: Eisenhower accepted Adams’s resignation on Sept. 22, 1958, and the list ends his tenure on Oct. 7; Sununu’s letter took effect Dec. 15, 1991, and the list ends his on Dec. 16. The list’s dates are used.
“Started on their president’s first day” counts the 10 chiefs both Wikipedia and Ballotpedia list who took the job on Jan. 20 of 1953, 1969, 1981, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2009, 2017, 2021 or 2025. Two de facto chiefs on Wikipedia’s list also started on a first day, Kenneth O’Donnell (Kennedy, Jan. 20, 1961) and Walter Jenkins (Johnson, Nov. 22, 1963); O’Donnell served until the assassination, and only Wikipedia lists him as chief. Bowles and McDonough started second terms of presidents already in office, and Haig was already chief when Ford took office, so they are not counted; McDonough stayed until Obama left. The LBJ Library confirms O’Donnell served Kennedy from 1961 and Johnson until 1965. Wiles’s tenure ends on Nov. 6, the day Trump announced the change, as Wikipedia and Ballotpedia list it. Miller’s start, Monday, Nov. 9, is from Trump’s post, as reported by CNBC and Ballotpedia.
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