Closeness to power: what the West Wing office layout says about the Biden administration

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President Joe Biden begins his tenure with a team of seasoned Washington operators whose placement inside the building gives clues as to who will be on hand in a crisis and who is most likely to meet with the president when ‘he works from his office.

Unlike his predecessor, who professed a love for government through chaos and whose assistants constantly sought to confront each other, Biden seems more inclined to follow the book. Officials say its meetings are held in a more traditional fashion, with a fixed list of attendees and usually an agenda.

And the door to the Oval Office will not be left open for assistants, as it was in Trump’s days. Traditional gatekeepers such as the chief of staff and an executive assistant will have the kind of control over Biden’s schedule that did not exist during times of President Donald Trump’s tenure.

But the opportunity that comes with a great workspace remains. And the value of prime White House real estate is even higher, given the number of aides working remotely during the pandemic.

It’s not whether the offices have a majestic view of Washington, since many workspaces have little or no exterior views. Instead, the proximity to the Oval Office offers an unspoken nod to the hierarchy surrounding the president.

Office space can also be used to elevate a particular official or a critical issue on the president’s agenda. Biden has placed Jeff Zients, his Covid response coordinator, in an office on the second floor, giving stature to his role in fighting the pandemic.

Longtime members of his entourage Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, senior advisers to Biden, move into small offices just steps from the Oval Office and the President’s private dining room. They take over rooms once occupied by advisers such as Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon under the Trump administration, David Axelrod under President Barack Obama and George Stephanopoulos when Bill Clinton was president.

At the end of the hall, Ron Klain, the chief of staff, has an office area with a fireplace and an outdoor terrace. Aside from the Oval Office, this is the most spacious office in the West Wing. Vice President Kamala Harris also has a large office right next door, as well as much more spacious quarters in Eisenhower’s Executive Office building, which sits next to the White House.

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

Located just outside the Oval Office, staff members act as personal assistants to Biden and manage the operations of the room, including the “Oval Office Operations Manager” – a position formerly held by the Trump’s former bodyguard.

In the other “corner offices” on the first floor of the west wing are the national security adviser and the press secretary. Both frequently attend meetings with the President.

Normally, their deputies and assistants crowded the desks in front of their desks. Yet the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way the building is filled.

Gone are the days of helpers crammed into desks for brainstorming sessions or meetings. The Biden administration is taking the pandemic remarkably seriously – far more than the last occupants of those offices – and many advisers are not permitted in the West Wing.
The pandemic has dispersed some key assistants who would normally work from the West Wing to other parts of the White House campus, officials said, with a myriad of Covid-19 precautions, including regular testing, masking universal and other security measures.

“Additional assistants work from home and use a variety of tools to stay in touch and perform their jobs,” a White House official told CNN.

The White House board, directors of the National Economic Council, the office of legislative affairs and domestic policy are all expected to be on the second floor of the West Wing, with those leading the fight against the coronavirus.

Unlike the Trump administration, no family member will hold any official office or office in the West Wing. And unlike the Clinton administration, the first lady will not have an office in the West Wing. Jill Biden will work in the traditional First Lady quarters of the East Wing of the White House.

Some Obama administration alumni may find the West Wing to be slightly different from when they left four years ago. Under Trump, the carpets were changed, the walls were painted, and some of the equipment was refreshed in a renovation early in his tenure. The air conditioning and heating systems were also replaced.

But the scale of space has remained the same. Aside from the desks in the corners of the building, the workspaces are tiny – especially for officials accustomed to more spacious conditions.

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