Daley Gives Up Some Duties

White House chief of staff Bill Daley “turned over day-to-day management of the West Wing to Pete Rouse, a veteran aide to President Obama,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

The unusual recalibration of Daley’s portfolio “is designed to smooth any kinks in the president’s team as it braces for the overlapping demands of governing while campaigning for re-election, people familiar with the matter said. The West Wing is preparing for budget battles with Congress and is seeking to use its executive powers more extensively.”

The new set-up effectively makes Rouse the president’s inside manager and Daley his ambassador to Congress, “roles that appear to better suit both men’s talents.”

Politico: “Daley’s relationship with some of his West Wing colleagues has been strained, and many pined for Rouse, who served as a bridge between the volatile Rahm Emanuel, now the mayor of Chicago, and Daley, the son and brother of Chicago mayors — who assumed office just ten months ago.”