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Pete Rouse

Senior Obama adviser (since January 2009)

Why He Matters

A veteran aide to former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Rouse joined the Senate office of Barack Obama in 2004, shortly after Daschle lost his reelection bid. Rouse continued advising Obama through the first two years of his presidency, and in 2010, he was named temporary White House chief of staff as Rahm Emanuel departed to run for Chicago mayor.

Occasionally called the 101st senator during his time on Capitol Hill, Rouse began working in the House in 1973, and has a large network of friends in high places, including Daschle and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), for whom Rouse worked as chief of staff.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: White House interim Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama (October 2010-January 2011); Adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (2005 to 2010); Adviser to Sen. Tom Daschle (1986 to 2004)
Birthday: April 15, 1946
Hometown: New Haven, Conn.

Alma Mater: Colby College, B.A., 1968; Harvard University, M.A.; London Schools of Economics, M.A., 1970
Spouse: Single
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Path to Power

Rouse was born in New Haven, Conn., and went to Colby College. He earned masters' degrees from Harvard University and the London Schools of Economics and arrived in Washington to work in the Senate mailroom. Rouse met Daschle in 1973, when they sat next to each other as aides to then-Sen. James Abourezk (D-S.D.). When Abourezk retired, Daschle went back to South Dakota to campaign for an open House seat, and Rouse stayed in Washington and worked in a variety of Hill Democratic offices.

Rouse's mother grew up in Alaska, and he moved to Anchorage in 1979 to work as the chief of staff for Republican Lt. Gov. Terry Miller for three years. That was the only time Rouse worked for a Republican, saying: "I am more interested in what people stand for and what my philosophical compatibility is. I have found only one Republican. All the rest of them have been Democrats."

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The stint with Miller was also the only time Rouse worked outside of Washington. He returned after just a few years to work in then-Rep. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) office. After coming to the House in the early 1980s, Durbin hired Rouse to be his chief of staff.

Rouse worked there until Daschle called him in 1986. Daschle said he was planning on a Senate run and wanted Rouse to run his House office during the campaign. After the victory, Rouse moved into Daschle's Senate office as his chief of staff.

Longtime Daschle Aide

Rouse served as Daschle's top staffer for nearly 20 years, building an impressive Rolodex along the way.

As Daschle's chief of staff, Rouse described his job as "to make sure everything stays on track and every once in a while help out with a little perspective here and there and on the controversial issues that are not just political in South Dakota but matters of principle."

He was considered one of the most important people on the Hill, earning him the moniker the "101st senator." He helped get Daschle elected Senate minority leader in 1994 by one vote in an election against Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.). After Daschle was upset by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) in the 2004 election, Rouse contemplated getting out of government.

But then Obama asked him to be his chief of staff. Rouse didn't expect Obama to be running for president two years later - and he says he hadn't even seen the senator's electrifying 2004 Democratic National Convention speech - but after a little prodding from Obama and adviser Cassandra Butts, he agreed.

"I was well aware that we could use an injection of fresh blood and talent in the Senate," Rouse said. "So my view was, since he's not running for president in 2008, to get him started: to set up his operation; get a good team in place; get a good strategic plan in place; get a good structure. ... I'll lay that foundation, and we'll see what happens. I'll be in my rocking chair when he runs in 2016 or whatever."

Nonetheless, Rouse methodically prepared for a possible Obama presidential bid - which he said was more of a "vision for the future" - in case Obama chose to run from the time the freshman senator came to Washington in 2005. But he said there were no serious meetings about such a bid until after the 2006 midterm elections.

The Issues

Rouse mastered a low-profile advisory role in his first two years at the Obama White House. Obama's faith in him won him the role of temporary replacement for Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel when Emanuel departed in fall 2010 to mount a campaign for Chicago mayor. He is known among White House aides as simply "the fixer."

One of Rouse's first pieces of advice to Obama was to warn him that a rule barring future lobbying for potential White House staffers might deter good candidates from applying.

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The Network

After three decades on the Hill, the list of Rouse's friends in Washington is long and distinguished. But many of his top connections come from his 18 years in Sen. Tom Daschle's office, ten of which were as Senate Democratic leader.

Obama communications director Dan Pfeiffer, a former communications director for Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), and Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand, a strategist who worked with Vice President Al Gore in 2000, both were friends from Rouse's days with Daschle.

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