The White House's $172,000 Men (And Women)
The White House has submitted to Congress its annual list of staff salaries, which shows more of President Obama's top lieutenants earning top dollar.
The information lists salary information for 455 White House employees, with the average salary clocking in at $77,320. The median wage is $62,000, which means that as many employees earn more than that as earn less. Fifty-one staffers earn the minimum, $36,000, while 22 earn the maximum: $172,200. That list includes the marquee names of the Obama West Wing, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, press secretary Robert Gibbs, senior adviser David Axelrod, and 28-year-old head of speechwriting Jon Favreau (full list after the jump). All told 123 employees, about one in four, earned six-figures.
For comparison sake, 447 staffers in the Bush administration in 2008 earned an average of $74,257, with the median wage being $55,400. A White House official said that unlike past years, the Obama administration is including the salary information for members of the National Economic Council and Domestic Policy Council.
$172,000 Earners:
David Axelrod, Senior Adviser
Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
John Brennan, Deputy National Security Adviser for Counterterrorism
Elizabeth Brown, Staff Secretary
Carol Browner, Asst. to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Greg Craig, White House Counsel
Thomas Donilon, Deputy National Security Adviser
Anita Dunn, Director of Communications
Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff
Jonathan Favreau, Director of Speechwriting
Patrick Gaspard, Director of Political Affairs
Robert Gibbs, Press Secretary
Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser, Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement
James Jones, National Security Adviser
Christopher Lu, Cabinet Secretary
Alyssa Mastromonaco, Director of Scheduling and Advance
James Messina, Deputy Chief of Staff
Peter Rouse, Senior Adviser
Philip Schiliro, Director of Legislative Affairs
Susan Sher, Chief of Staff to the First Lady
Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council
Mona Sutphen, Deputy Chief of Staff