Thompson, Other Cabinet Members Find They Have ‘Less Clout’ on Policy Than White House Aides

While "it was thought" that President Bush's Cabinet would be "unusually powerful because of its impressive lineup of talent" of former governors and senators, the Washington Post reports that White House aides, not Cabinet members, have been the "leading actors" in a series of "politically charged decisions," including patients' rights legislation and embryonic stem cell research. For more than 50 years, the Cabinet's power has "gradually shift[ed]" to White House staffers, who are typically "trusted campaign aides." At the same time, Cabinet-level members of the administration have become "administrators" of the government, who carry out but "rarely" set policy. While Bush has set out to return some "clout" to Cabinet officials -- he has "reinstated" monthly Cabinet meetings and formed "working groups" to foster communication between the agencies and the White House -- "power still resides in the White House," the Post reports. Cabinet officials do have some "leeway," but they typically can only expand on issues that are a concern to Bush. For example, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson was able to "build" on Bush's interest in reducing the number of uninsured by developing a proposal that "states be allowed to trim some optional Medicaid benefits and use the savings to expand health coverage for the poor." However, Thompson has taken a "back seat" to White House aides on other issues such as prescription drugs, patients' rights and stem cell research. For example, Thompson did not help reach a compromise with Rep. Charles Norwood (R-Ga.) on patients' rights legislation that passed the House (HR 2563); Bush and adviser Joshua Bolten made the deal. Also, after Bush announced his decision to limit federal funding of stem cell research to those lines in existence at the time of his announcement, Bush counselor Karen Hughes, and not Thompson, defended the decision "most prominently." When asked to name an instance when the White House allowed HHS to lead on an issue, an HHS official said, "I don't think we've come to one yet." However, the Post reports that it is possible that "primacy" of the White House staff will "ease," especially after the administration "exhausts" its supply of legislative proposals from the campaign (Nakashima/Milbank, Washington Post, 9/5).