White House Office of Public Engagement

White House Office of Public Engagement
Agency overview
Formed1974; 50 years ago (1974)
HeadquartersEisenhower Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C., U.S.
38°53′51.24″N 77°2′20.93″W / 38.8975667°N 77.0391472°W / 38.8975667; -77.0391472
Agency executive
Parent departmentWhite House Office

The White House Office of Public Engagement (OPE) is a unit of the White House Office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Under the administration of President Barack Obama, it combined oversight of OPE and the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) under the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPE-IGA). President Donald Trump restored the prior name of the Office of Public Liaison (OPL) and re-separated IGA. President Joe Biden changed the name back to OPE but kept IGA separate in his administration.[1]

The current director of public engagement is former mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, Stephen K. Benjamin, who assumed office in April 2023.[2]

  1. ^ "Incoming White House Public Engagement Director On His Plans For The Job". All Things Considered. NPR. December 11, 2020. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  2. ^ McCarthy, Mia (February 27, 2023). "Former South Carolina mayor replaces Bottoms at White House Office of Public Engagement". Politico. Retrieved February 27, 2023.