doi:10.7916/gd08-7417Oral history interview with Robert L. Nabors, 2021Nabors, Robert Lee, 1971-oral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesGreenhouse gas mitigation--Law and legislation--United StatesBudget deficits--United StatesNabors, Robert Lee, 1971-Obama, BarackUnited StatesUnited States. Office of Management and BudgetUnited States. White House Office. Office of Legislative AffairsUnited States. Department of Veterans AffairsUnited States. Veterans Health AdministrationAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Patient Protection and Affordable Care ActMiddle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012Robert Nabors reflects on his service in the Obama administration, in which he held a variety of roles including deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget from 2009 to 2010, senior advisor to the White House chief of staff from 2010 to 2011, director of the Office of Legislative Affairs from 2011 to 2013, White House deputy chief of staff for policy from 2013 to 2015, and chief of staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2015 to 2016. Nabors provides details about major legislative and policy initiatives with which he was closely involved, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Affordable Care Act, federal budgets for the fiscal years between 2010 and 2014, the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, and proposed cap-and-trade schemes for emissions reductions. Nabors, who served as a legislative intermediary between the White House and Congress, explains the political dynamics and negotiations that shaped each of these initiatives. Also discussed are debates within the administration's economic team around the size of the federal budget deficit, the administration's response to the scandal over wait times in Veterans Health Administration hospitals, the increased partisanship in Washington over the course of Nabors' career, and differences between the private and public sectors