The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) is a unit of the White House Office, within the Executive Office of the President. It serves as the primary liaison between the White House and state, county (or county-equivalent), local, and tribal governments. The office focuses on building new and maintaining current relationships with governors, tribal leaders, mayors, state legislators, and county executives. The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs works with federal agencies and departments to ensure appropriate coordination between state, local, and tribal governments and the federal government.
Origin The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs was established in 1955 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he appointed former Arizona governor John Howard Pyle as Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs. The appointment followed the recommendations of the Kestnbaum Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, which had been established by Congress to study problems in the interactions between federal and state governments.
List of directors
NameStartEndPresident(1953–1961)Unknown(1961–1963)(1963–1969)(1969–1974)(1974–1977)(1977–1981)(1981–1989)(1989–1993)(1993–2001)(2001–2009)(2009–2017)(2017–2021)(2021–2025)Vacant(2025–present)present
Political and Intergovernmental Affairs During the second term of the Reagan administration, there was a director of political and intergovernmental affairs who sat above the political director and intergovernmental affairs director.
+ImageNameStartEndPresident(1981–1989)
Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs During the Obama administration, there was a director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs who sat above the public engagement director and intergovernmental affairs director.
+ImageNameStartEndPresident(2009–2017)
References
External links Official website from the presidency of Barack Obama