<P> The Chief of Staff is a political appointee of the President who does not require Senate confirmation, and who serves at the pleasure of the President . The position is considered to be a stepping stone . Although not a legal requirement, each incoming President appoints their chief of staff . </P> <P> In the administration of Donald Trump, the current Chief of Staff is John F. Kelly, who succeeded Reince Priebus on July 31, 2017 . </P> <P> The duties of the White House chief of staff vary greatly from one administration to another and, in fact, there is no legal requirement that the president even fill the position . However, since at least 1979, all presidents have found the need for a chief of staff, who typically oversees the actions of the White House staff, manages the president's schedule, and decides who is allowed to meet with the president . Because of these duties, the chief of staff has at various times been labeled "The Gatekeeper", or "the power behind the throne". </P> <P> Originally, the duties now performed by the chief of staff belonged to the president's private secretary and were fulfilled by crucial confidants and advisers such as George B. Cortelyou, Joseph Tumulty, and Louis McHenry Howe to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt, respectively . The private secretary served as the president's de facto chief aide in a role that combined personal and professional assignments of highly delicate and demanding natures, requiring great skill and discretion . The job of gatekeeper and overseeing the president's schedule was separately delegated to the appointments secretary, as with FDR's aide Edwin "Pa" Watson . </P>

What is the role of the president's chief of staff