Joshua Bolten, who served in the George W. Bush administration as White House Chief of Staff from 2006 to 2009, discusses the 2008-2009 presidential transition. Bolten outlines the Bush administration's efforts to professionalize the transition process, and the national security dynamics of the process associated with the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the elevated threat of terrorist vio lence after 9/11. Bolten describes encounters between the White House and the Obama transition team, including discussions related to executive branch operations, efforts to support the American auto industry, the release of the second tranche of funds provided by the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and the September 25, 2008 meeting in the White House Cabinet Room with Bush, Obama, John McCain, and congressional leadership at the height of the financial crisis. Also discussed are the Bush administration's drafting of strategic policy memos for the incoming Obama administration, tabletop crisis exercises conducted with incoming national security staff, debates around the recipients of the President's Daily Brief, the Bush administration's approach to the lame duck period following the 2008 election, and Bolten's memories of the first Obama inauguration, including the threat of terrorism
Presidents--United States; Presidents--Transition periods--United States; War on Terrorism; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; Bailouts (Government policy)--United States; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Afghan War, 2001-2021; Bolten, Joshua Brewster, 1954-; Obama, Barack; Troubled Asset Relief Program (U.S.)
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
43 pages
Note (Biographical)
Joshua Bolten was White House chief of staff during the George W. Bush administration, where he oversaw the administration's side of the transition into the Obama administration. In the George W. Bush White House, Bolten held a series of positions, fi rst as deputy chief of staff of policy, then Office of Management and Budget director, and finally White House chief of staff from 2006 to 2009. After leaving that White House, Bolten taught at Princeton, co-chaired the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, and co-founded and was managing director of Rock Creek Global Advisors, an international consulting firm. At the time of this interview he was president and CEO of the Business Roundtable
Note
Interviewed by William McAllister on January 25, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Joshua Bolten, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022