Chris Lu has journeyed with President Obama from the U.S. Senate. He was Legislative Director and Chief of Staff in Obama’s Senate office, as well as a policy advisor during the presidential campaign. He served as the Executive Director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Lu now serves as the President’s Cabinet Secretary.

Q: On managing the President’s Cabinet

CL: It really is one of the best jobs in the White House. I am the President’s main liaison to the Cabinet: making sure that, in terms of policy and in terms of messaging, the White House and the Cabinet Departments are on the same page every single day. My office is involved in large inter-agency projects, whether that’s the implementation of the stimulus, the President’s call for agencies to find cost savings, or the federal response to the H1N1 flu.

I am the President’s main liaison to the Cabinet: making sure that, in terms of policy and in terms of messaging, the White House and the Cabinet Departments are on the same page every single day.

Often times I am the White House’s advocate to the Cabinet; sometimes it goes the other way and my job is to advocate for a certain agency proposal or help agencies navigate the White House. The job is also about finding linkages between different departments that are working on similar projects. When you’re dealing with twenty different entities, every day is completely different. You never know what’s going to consume your time, but that’s one of the fun things about the job.

Q: On the Swine Flu outbreak response

CL: The Homeland Security Council is running the process, and Secretaries Napolitano and Sebelius are the leads. But there are many side issues that creep up along the way. My job is ensuring that these issues, which may not come to the forefront but may be important, are addressed.

But there are many side issues that creep up along the way…it also could involve addressing concerns among some in the Latino community that federal agencies need to do more outreach in Spanish language press.

A good example is ensuring that any guidances that go to federal employees working at the border or at airports also go to other federal employees, so that people at HUD and the EPA have the same knowledge as DHS. Also, we work to keep agencies in the loop that might not be squarely in the mix on this issue. It also could involve addressing concerns among some in the Latino community that federal agencies need to do more outreach in Spanish language press.

Q: On the President’s pledge of transparency

CL: Transparency, accountability, and ethics are important principles in this Administration, and we emphasize these principles in a lot of the initiatives we’ve been pushing. Since I’ve been with the President for over four years, I have the institutional memory of how he views these issues, and I can help impart that to the other people who may be newer to the Obama operation.

Q: On transitioning roles from Obama’s Senate Chief of Staff to Transition Director to Cabinet Secretary.

CL: During the four and a half years I’ve been with him, I’ve worked harder than I’ve ever worked in my entire life. With each new task, whether it was being his Legislative Director or his Chief of Staff or the Executive Director of his transition or now in my current job as the Cabinet Secretary, I’ve worked successively harder.

With each new task, whether it was being his Legislative Director or his Chief of Staff or the Executive Director of his transition or now in my current job as the Cabinet Secretary, I’ve worked successively harder.

The President and I were talking recently about life here in the White House compared to life in the Senate. What’s different is you work four weeks in the Senate and then you have a recess. But there’s no recess at the White House. Every day brings a new series of challenges.

Q: On Obama the Professor, the Senator, and the President

I’ve always described briefing the President as being equivalent to the most rigorous Socratic method in a law school class

CL: The Barack Obama that is now President is not significantly different from the Barack Obama that was a U.S. Senator. He is without question the smartest person I’ve worked with. He has a great sense of empathy and obviously wonderful communication skills. He also has amazing analytical abilities. I’ve always described briefing the President as being equivalent to the most rigorous Socratic method in a law school class. Like a good law school professor, which he was, he knows exactly the questions to ask you to probe the case you’re trying to make. He really keeps you on your toes. He also wants to hear a variety of perspectives, especially from people who disagree with him.

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