John Podesta discusses his activities during the presidency of Barack Obama, which he supported as co-chairman of the 2008 transition and as counselor to the president from 2014 to 2015; from 2003 to 2011, Podesta was the CEO of the Center for American Progress. Podesta provides details about the structure and activities of the transition, outlining its relationship with the Obama 2008 campaign, it s coordination with the Bush administration, and the process by which staff and political appointees were selected. Podesta describes the relationship between the administration and the Center for American Progress, including its work on policy initiatives such as healthcare reform and the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell directive, and its efforts to organize public support for a progressive agenda. As counselor to the president, Podesta focused on the administration's climate policy, and he recounts his work guiding the implementation of the Presidential Climate Action Plan, detailing the regulatory coordination between the White House and relevant federal agencies, the introduction of a focus on resilience and adaptation, and the shift away from an "all-of-the-above" energy policy reliant on natural gas. Also discussed is the centrality of climate and energy policy to the United States' diplomatic relationships with China and India during this period
Presidents--United States; Presidents--Transition periods--United States; Presidential campaigns--United States; Health care reform--Political aspects--United States; Climate change mitigation--Law and legislation--United States; Climate change mitigation--Political aspects--United States; Energy policy--United States; Renewable energy sources--Political aspects--United States; Podesta, John; Obama, Barack; United States; Center for American Progress; Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
135 pages
Note (Biographical)
John Podesta is an American public servant, democratic political operative, lawyer, and nonprofit executive. Podesta has been involved in American politics and government since the 1970s, and he has worked in the Department of Justice, at ACTION (a fe deral domestic volunteer agency), and as counselor to democratic committees and subcommittees in the U.S. Senate. In the Clinton administration, Podesta served as White House staff secretary, deputy chief of staff, and, from 1998 to 2001, White House chief of staff. In 2003, he founded the Center for American Progress, a public policy think tank, where he served as executive director through 2011, and where he remains on the board of directors at the time of the interview. In 2008, Podesta served as co-chairman of the Obama transition project; and from 2014 to 2015, he served as counselor to the president, with a particular focus on climate change and environmental protection. Among other positions since his service in the Obama White House, Podesta was chair of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. In September 2022, President Biden appointed Podesta as senior advisor to the president for clean energy innovation and implementation
Note
Interviewed by William McAllister on September 15 and 16, and October 13, 2020. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
John Podesta, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023