White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff position is the successor to the earlier role of the President's private secretary. The role was formalized as the Assistant to the President in 1946 and acquired its current title in 1961; the current official title is Assistant to the Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff is a political appointee of the President who does not require Senate confirmation, who serves at the pleasure of the President. While not a required role, all presidents since Harry Truman have appointed chiefs of staff. In the administration of Donald Trump, the current acting Chief of Staff is Mick Mulvaney, who succeeded John Kelly on January 2, 2019, who himself had replaced Reince Priebus as Chief of Staff on July 31, 2017. On December 8, 2018, President Trump announced that Kelly would be stepping down from his post by the end of the year. On December 14, Trump announced on Twitter that OMB director Mick Mulvaney would become the new acting Chief of Staff; the duties of the White House chief of staff vary from one administration to another and, in fact, there is no legal requirement that the president fill the position.
However, since at least 1979, all presidents have found the need for a chief of staff, who oversees the actions of the White House staff, manages the president's schedule, decides, allowed to meet with the president. Because of these duties, the chief of staff has at various times been labeled "The Gatekeeper." 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, Louis McHenry Howe to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, 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 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. From 1933 to 1939, as he expanded the scope of the federal government's policies and powers in response to the Great Depression, Roosevelt relied on his "Brain Trust" of top advisers.
Although working directly for the president, they were appointed to vacant positions in agencies and departments, whence they drew their salaries since the White House lacked statutory or budgetary authority to create new staff positions. It was not until 1939, during Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term in office, that the foundations of the modern White House staff were created using a formal structure. Roosevelt was able to get Congress to approve the creation of the Executive Office of the President, which would report directly to the president. During World War II, Roosevelt created the position of "Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief" for his principal military adviser, Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy. In 1946, in response to the rapid growth of the U. S. government's executive branch, the position of "Assistant to the President of the United States" was established. Charged with the affairs of the White House, it was the immediate predecessor to the modern chief of staff, it was in 1953, under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, that the president's preeminent assistant was designated the "White House Chief of Staff".
Assistant to the president became a rank shared by the chief of staff with such senior aides as deputy chiefs of staff, the White House counsel, the White House press secretary, others. This new system did not catch on immediately. Democrats Kennedy and Johnson still relied on their appointments secretaries instead, it was not until the Nixon administration that the chief of staff took over maintenance of the President's schedule; this concentration of power in the Nixon and Ford White House led presidential candidate Jimmy Carter to campaign in 1976 with the promise that he would not appoint a chief of staff. And indeed, for the first two and a half years of his presidency, he appointed no one to the post; the average tenure for a White House chief of staff is a little more than 18 months. The inaugural chief of staff, John R. Steelman, under Harry S. Truman, was the last to be a president's only chief of staff, not counting Kenneth O'Donnell during John F. Kennedy's 34 months in office.. Steelman holds the record for longest-serving chief of staff.
Most White House chiefs of staff are former politicians, many continue their political careers in other senior roles. Lyndon Johnson's chief of staff W. Marvin Watson became the Postmaster General in LBJ's term. Richard Nixon's Chief of Staff Alexander Haig, a career U. S. Army officer with his capstone military position being CINCUSEUCOM/SACEUR became Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan. Cheney became a Congressman for Wyoming, Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush and vice president in the George W. Bush administration. Donald Rumsfeld was another chief of staff for Ford and subsequently served as Secretary of Defense both in the Ford administration and decades also in the George W. Bush administration. Rahm Emanuel left the House of Representatives to become Barack Obama's chief of staff and subsequently became Mayor of Chicago. Jack Lew, President Obama's fourth chief of staff, was appointed Secretary of the Treasury. Chris Whipple, author of The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, loosely describes the role of a White House chief of staff
Bob Russell (The West Wing)
Robert "Bob" Russell is a fictional character played by Gary Cole on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is introduced as a member of Congress from Colorado, succeeds to the vice presidency after President Bartlet nominates him following the resignation of incumbent John Hoynes. A Democratic Representative from Colorado at the time of his appointment, Russell was derided by some of the senior West Wing staff as mediocre, a tool of Colorado mining interests. Russell's dismissive nickname around Washington was "Bingo Bob", he was referred to as "the Congressman from the Western Colorado Mining Company". Russell served on the House Energy Committee with future Speaker Jeff Haffley. Russell claims that he wears cowboy boots because of flat feet but Josh Lyman suggests that it's a transparent attempt to appear "folksy". Once confirmed as Vice President, Russell soon established himself as an ambitious and shrewd politician with a wry awareness of his own shortcomings. Russell used self-deprecating humor to try to get past his dullness, such as stating, "Bob Russell is so dull his Secret Service codename is Bob Russell."
After the resignation of Vice President John Hoynes due to a sex scandal in May 2003, the Bartlet Administration was required to nominate a replacement, in accordance with the provisions of the 25th Amendment. President Jed Bartlet's first choice was Lewis Berryhill, his Secretary of State, played by William Devane. However, Berryhill's nomination was opposed by House and Senate Republicans, along with more than a few Democrats, most notably the Senate Minority Leader. With a great deal of reluctance, Bartlet nominated Bob Russell, whom he selected after Congressional Republicans, who were in the majority, made it clear that they would not confirm a more viable candidate—one who could conceivably win the upcoming election to choose Bartlet's successor. Bartlet decided that Russell's was the least objectionable name on the list provided by Speaker of the House Jeff Haffley, which included several more politically unappealing individuals. After Bartlet informs his staff of his intention to appoint Russell, Toby Ziegler and Will Bailey attempt to prepare Bartlet's announcement speech, which he intends to deliver at a White House Rose Garden press conference.
Since Will and Toby regard Russell as a nonentity, they have difficulty preparing proper remarks. As an inside joke to start their creative process, they write the speech they wish Bartlet could give: Toby: Here's what it should be. In a triumph of the middling, a nod to mediocrity, with gorge rising, it gives me great nausea to announce Robert Russell - Bingo Bob himself - as your new Vice President. Will: This lapdog of mining interests is as dull as he is unremarkable. Toby: As lackluster as he is soporific... Will: Good. Toby: This reversion to the mean... Will: This rebuke to the exemplary... Toby: Gives hope to the millions unfavored by the exceptional... Will: Yes. Toby: The Vice Presidency, being famously once described as not being worth a warm bucket of spit. Not the worst. Not the best. Just what we're stuck with. Will: Amen. Toby and Will complete a speech appropriate to the occasion; when Bartlet and Russell begin the press conference, Bartlet realizes that the joke speech has been mistakenly loaded into the Teleprompter.
Bartlet ad libs a nomination speech of his own and introduces Russell. Following the press conference, Russell confronts Will and Toby, who apologize and are prepared to be reprimanded or fired. Instead, Russell asks for a copy, he goes on to tell them that he is well aware of his own reputation, but since he is now a member of Bartlet's team, it's incumbent on them to help rehabilitate his image. In the political primary season, he vied with Hoynes and U. S. Representative Matt Santos of Texas for the Democratic presidential nomination during the 2006 election. After a strong early start as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Russell lost the crucial California Democratic primary, several primaries, to Santos. Russell offered Santos and Pennsylvania Gov. Eric Baker the opportunity to be his running mate, but both declined. After several deadlocked ballots at the Democratic National Convention and a rousing speech from Santos, President Bartlet threw his support to Santos, as did a key teachers' union leader, which secured the nomination for Santos, with former White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry as his running mate.
Russell's chief of staff and campaign manager was Will Bailey. Donna Moss joined his campaign staff rising to become press secretary. Bailey became White House Communications Director following the dismissal of Toby Ziegler for a national security violation, while Moss moved over to the Santos campaign. Late in the presidential campaign, Santos became frustrated with Russell's apparent unwillingness to campaign for him, but Russell did campaign for Santos in his own home state of Colorado, a state, subsequently carried by Santos in the election. Russell offered to continue as Vice President to Santos, after Democratic vice presidential nominee Leo McGarry died on the night of the presidential election, but Santos tactfully declined the offer. Bob Russell is last seen at the Bartlett staff goodbye party commenting to Will Bailey that McGarry's recent death had caused him to reflect on his own mortality. Before ascending to the Vice Presidency, Russell represented a Con
Josh Lyman
Joshua Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. The role earned Whitford the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2001. For the majority of the series, he is White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Political Advisor in the Josiah Bartlet administration. Josh is portrayed as having one of the sharpest minds on the President's staff, he is described by Will Bailey as "after Leo... the finest political mind in the party". Aaron Sorkin, the creator of The West Wing wrote Josh Lyman with long-time friend Whitford in mind. An early draft of the pilot script, dated February 6, 1998, describes Josh as being "a youthful 38" and "a regarded brain." After reading the script, Whitford said he loved the character and "desperately wanted" the part. While his audition impressed the show's executive producers, with Sorkin describing it as "simply the best audition for anything I'd seen," Warner Brothers casting director John Levey was not convinced Whitford had enough sex appeal to play a lead character and executive producer Thomas Schlamme was concerned that he did not have enough depth to carry the more dramatic scenes.
After a second audition, Whitford was offered the role of Sam Seaborn. Whitford called Sorkin for help. "I just said,'Aaron, I just feel this strongly. This isn't about me wanting a job; this is the only time in my life. I am this guy. Sorkin was impressed, soon after Whitford was cast as Josh. In the early episodes of the series, Josh is portrayed as overly tough and outspoken, but mellows by the end of the first season, becoming more eager and simplistic in his personal demeanor switching places with Toby as the "hot-headed" one. In researching the role, Whitford said he found former Clinton communications director George Stephanopoulos's book All Too Human helpful, "just because it gave a sense of the sort of smell and the texture and the level of intimacy with the president, which I was just unaware of."Josh shares his name with a character in the Garry Trudeau cartoon strip Doonesbury, a White House deputy cabinet liaison encountered by Doonesbury regular Joanie Caucus. A framed copy of a Doonesbury strip hangs in Josh's office.
The character is said to be based in part on Rahm Emanuel, although executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell denies this claim. In the Season 1 episode,'Mandatory Minimums', Josh is called "Rambo" by one of the staff after an intense telephone conversation. In other instances, the character is said to be based on former Clinton advisor Paul Begala who notes that some of Josh's experiences in the first season are some of the same experiences he went through. Josh comes from Connecticut. A Fulbright scholar, he graduated cum laude from Harvard University, Yale Law School, graduating c. 1984. He has been known to boast that he scored a 760 on the verbal portion of his SAT, although he claims, when trying to explain his lack of skill in serious relationships, his IQ does not "break the bank," so he had to work hard in college and law school to do well. Josh is a non-practicing Jew, he had an elder sister, who died when he was a child. She was babysitting him when a fire broke out in her home and died trying to put out the fire while Josh ran outside - an event which continues to haunt Josh.
His father, Noah Lyman, was a lawyer and old friend of Leo McGarry. Although Josh thinks his father would have preferred grandchildren to a son in politics, Noah was proud that Josh was working for Bartlet and bragged about his son to his friends and neighbors, his father died in 1998 on the night of the Illinois primary, after developing an unexpected pulmonary embolism while undergoing chemotherapy for an unspecified form of cancer. His mother splits her time between Westport and West Palm Beach, before she sells the Connecticut house. Josh is an avid New York Mets fan, once trying to finish all his work in order to travel to a Mets intrasquad spring training game in Port St. Lucie, Florida He is proud of his home state, and, in Season 5, Episode 10, is quoted as saying "Go Whalers!" and "Whaler Pride!" after the National Hockey League's Hartford Whalers, from his home state of Connecticut. Before working for President Josiah Bartlet, Josh worked as the Chief of Staff for Congressman Earl Brennan, floor manager for the Minority Whip, Democratic legislative director in the House of Representatives and Democratic floor director in the Senate.
Josh became a staffer for then-Senator John Hoynes, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for President in 1998. However, Hoynes's tendency to go against Josh's advice, to prioritize politics over Hoynes' own ideas and convictions, frustrates Josh. Thirteen weeks before the New Hampshire primary, Josh receives a visit from Leo McGarry, an old friend of his father's. At Leo's request, a skeptical Josh travels to New Hampshire to hear Bartlet speak. Josh is so impressed by Bartlet's prioritization of conviction and honesty over popularity that he leaves Hoynes' campaign to work for Bartlet. Shortly after joining the Bartlet for America campaign, Josh hires recent college dropout Donna Moss as his assistant, despite her apparent lack of qualifications. Donna remains as Josh's assistant for most of the series. A unspoken friendship, romantic tension, exists between the two for the majority of the series. Josh's defection from the Hoynes campaign leads to an odd working relationship with his former boss
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary "Toby" Ziegler is a fictional character in the television serial drama The West Wing, played by Richard Schiff. The role earned Schiff the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2000. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director. According to series creator Aaron Sorkin, Schiff was cast in the role of Toby Ziegler over many other actors who auditioned, including Eugene Levy. Schiff created a backstory for the character as a widower and wore his own wedding ring, something Sorkin and fellow executive producer Thomas Schlamme, who were planning for the character to be divorced, did not notice until the show's eighth episode. "I had always imagined that his first wife had died, which accounts for his sadness, why someone would devote himself to public service and be so singular about it", Schiff said. "But Aaron and Tommy threw that right out the window." Tobias Zachary Ziegler was born on December 23, 1954. He is from a working-class background and grew up in Brighton Beach, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in a Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jewish family.
His father, Jules "Julie" Ziegler was an immigrant who, according to one episode, "needed the GI Bill," implying that he fought in either the Second World War or the Korean War. He made women's raincoats for a living. Toby's mother has been dead for 12 years as of season 3. Both he and his father mention sisters, who Toby says took him to protest rallies in the mid-1960s, as well as nieces and nephews, his younger brother, David, is a mission specialist at NASA who commits suicide after learning that he has terminal cancer. Toby makes reference to a grandfather who lived to be 96 years old, but for the last 20 years of his life "thought the Habsburgs still lived in a big palace in Vienna."In Season 4, Episode 19 Toby says that his draft number for Vietnam was not called. Toby was married to Andrea Wyatt, they divorced during the first year of the Bartlet administration after unsuccessful attempts to have children. Toward the end of the Bartlet re-election campaign, Andy becomes pregnant with twins.
Following this, Toby begins to pursue a renewed relationship with Andy. After his initial proposals of marriage are rejected, imagining that she is making him chase her, he sets about attempting to eradicate the behaviors that Andy has found irritating in the past, he forces himself to eat salads, sells his bachelor pad, buying Andy the property she has always considered her "dream house." Andy is mortified by the gesture, refusing his proposal once more and telling him that he is "too sad" for her. Moments her water breaks, the twins—a boy and a girl—are born shortly thereafter. Huck is named for Andy's grandfather, Molly for Molly O'Connor, a U. S. Secret Service agent, killed in the line of duty on the day of their birth. Toby is rather morose, yet he is something of an idealist less willing than his colleagues and the president to compromise his political values, he is shown to be a more than formidable opponent in an argument able to hold his own against Bartlet himself. He is known for his acerbic wit.
A Reform Jew, Toby sometimes attends synagogue on Sabbath, but is not observant of the Torah and its commandments. At one point he suggests to Josh Lyman that, because he is from a Jewish neighborhood of New York City rather than the affluent town of Westport, Connecticut, he is more Jewish than Josh. Toby seems to have a particular fondness for grammatical correctness: he is able to name all the types of punctuation from memory and claims to have discovered a typographical error in the U. S. Constitution which, he believes, could change the interpretation of the Takings Clause, he attended City College of New York - he recalls during Season 5 that he had met the Chief Justice of the United States while a student there. It is intimated that Toby is a lawyer in Season 2, Episode 5, with Toby in the room, Sam says to Leo, “I’m a lawyer. No further evidence of Toby being a lawyer is offered. Toby is a fan of the New York Yankees, he claims to have attended 441 games at Yankee Stadium as of May 2002.
He reveals his fandom of the New York Knicks and is once seen wearing a New York Giants hat in his office. Before joining the Bartlet presidential campaign, Toby was a professional political operative who worked for various campaigns including New York City Council seats, Bronx Borough President and U. S. House and Senate races. However, he had never been on a winning campaign before Bartlet's 1998 presidential bid, he says that he backs the candidates who should win, rather than those who will win, is unapologetic about his low winning record. Once in the White House, Toby is rewarded for his work on the campaign, with Bartlet naming him Communications Director and senior domestic policy advisor, it is revealed that Toby was not the president's first choice for the job, although Bartlet confides that he is grateful his first choice turned down the job. Of all the senior staffers, Toby is the most prone to clash with the President, being unafraid to challenge his judgment and question his actions when he feels Bartlet is not acting according to his true morality.
When Will Bailey leaves the president's staff to work for the vice president, Toby interprets the move as a betrayal and develops an antagonistic attitude towards Will that never is fixed (they go from being at odds to having little or nothing to do with each other, though Will is shocked and left near tears when a devastated C. J. tells him
The West Wing (season 7)
The seventh and final season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2005 to May 14, 2006 and consisted of 22 episodes. The series changed time slots from Wednesdays at 8:00 pm to Sundays at 8:00 pm, the series struggled in its new time slot against ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and CBS's Cold Case; the season was released on DVD as a six-disc boxed set under the title The West Wing: The Complete Seventh Season by Warner Home Video being released first in Region 2 on September 11, 2006 and in Region 1 on November 7, 2006. All episodes from the season are available to purchase and download to registered users of iTunes Stores in certain countries and in the US through Amazon Video on Demand. In Canada, the seventh season was due to be simulcast on CTV. In the United Kingdom the season premiered on March 10, 2006 on More4; the season was produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.
The executive producers were the production company's namesake and founder John Wells, Christopher Misiano, Alex Graves, political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell and Peter Noah. The West Wing was created by Aaron Sorkin. For the seventh season, regular staff writers were Wells, O'Donnell, Eli Attie, Debora Cahn, Josh Singer and Lauren Schmidt, while cast member Bradley Whitford wrote his second episode of the series; the regular directors were Misiano, Andrew Bernstein and Lesli Linka Glatter. The seventh season had star billing for thirteen major roles, with twelve of these filled by returning main cast members from the sixth season. Martin Sheen receives the "and" credit for his role as President Josiah Bartlet, while Jimmy Smits receives a "with" credit; the rest of the ensemble, including Kristin Chenoweth, are credited alphabetically. This season saw every cast member appear in a diminished role, with the exception of Jimmy Smits who appeared in all 22 episodes; the other most appearing cast members were Whitford.
Alda, McCormack, Sheen appeared in 12 episodes each and Moloney in 13, Chenoweth in 10, Schiff in 11, who died of a heart-attack in December 2005, appeared in 7, Hill appeared in 5, Channing appeared in 4 episodes. Alan Alda as Arnold Vinick Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlet Kristin Chenoweth as Annabeth Schott Dulé Hill as Charlie Young Allison Janney as C. J. Cregg Joshua Malina as Will Bailey Mary McCormack as Kate Harper Janel Moloney as Donna Moss Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler John Spencer as Leo McGarry Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman Jimmy Smits as Matt Santos Martin Sheen as Josiah Bartlet Janeane Garofalo contracted to join the show in a three-episode arc as Louise Thornton, a media strategist hired by Matt Santos. Other characters that returned in recurring roles were Ron Silver as Bruno Gianelli, campaign manager for Sen. Vinick. Other guest stars returning to recurring roles include Teri Polo as Helen Santos, Patricia Richardson as Sen. Vinick's chief of staff Sheila Brooks, Lily Tomlin as Presidential secretary Debbie Fiderer, Karis Campbell as Santos' secretary Ronna, Allison Smith as Leo's daughter, Kathleen York as Andrea Wyatt, Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol, Renée Estevez as Nancy, Peter James Smith and William Duffy as Ed and Larry and all White House staff.
Oliver Platt returned in his recurring role as Oliver Babish, having appeared back in 2001. In March 2006, it was announced that a number of former cast members would be reprising the roles of previous characters; these included Rob Lowe as political official Sam Seaborn, Mary-Louise Parker as women's rights advocate Amy Gardner, Anna Deavere Smith as National Security Advisor Nancy McNally, Emily Procter as Republican attorney Ainsley Hayes, Marlee Matlin as pollster Joey Lucas, Gary Cole as Vice President Bob Russell, Tim Matheson as former Vice President John Hoynes, Timothy Busfield as journalist Danny Concannon, Annabeth Gish as Liz Bartlet Westin, eldest daughter of President Bartlet. The season was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards in 2006; the show was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series for the seventh year running. Alan Alda, as Senator Vinick, won in the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Martin Sheen, as President Bartlet, was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Allison Janney, as C.
J. was nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category. Mimi Leder was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the episode "Election Day" and Audio mixer Edward J. Greene and EFX mixer Andrew Strauber won the award for Outstanding Multi-camera Sound Mixing for a Series or Special for "The Debate". Eli Attie and John Wells received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in the Episodic Drama category for "Election Day Part II". Attie and Wells were nominated for the $15,000 Humanitas Prize in the 60-minute category for the same episode, the submission that won the show an AFI Award that year; the show won the Hallmark Hall of Fame Heritage Award at the Television Critics Association Awards and Alda received a nomination for Individual Achievement in Drama. Alda was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, The Guild nominated the whole ensemble for the Outstanding Performance in a Drama Series award.
Supervising sound editors Walter Newman and Thomas A. Harris, supervising dialogue editor Catherine Flynn, dialogue and ADR editors
Charlie Young
Charles Young is a fictional character played by Dulé Hill on the television serial drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he is the Personal Aide to President Josiah Bartlet; the character of Charlie Young was to appear in the pilot, with a draft dated February 6, 1998, describing him as a "fresh-faced" 19-year-old, taking a year off from Georgetown University to work as the President's personal aide. The character was written out of drafts, was not introduced in the show until The West Wing's third episode after the all-Caucasian main cast came under criticism from the NAACP. Aged 21 when he enters the White House, the character that made it into the show is older than the early pilot draft called for, has a somewhat modified history. Actor Dulé Hill said he decided to audition for the role due to the involvement of Martin Sheen and show creator Aaron Sorkin, whose work he admired. In preparing for the role, Hill met with his character's real-life counterpart, Kris Engskov personal aide to President Bill Clinton.
Hill said the experience helped him realize how important and powerful the job was. Charlie's interracial romance with President Bartlet's daughter sparked hate mail from some viewers, inspiring the season one cliffhanger in which the President and his staff are fired upon by white supremacists; the character shares his name with that of African American historical figure Charles Young, the first African-descended American to earn the title of Colonel in the United States Army and the third to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Charlie Young is introduced in the episode "A Proportional Response" as a young man applying at the White House personnel office for a part-time job as a messenger, he is interviewed by Deborah De LaGuardia who recommends him to Josh Lyman for another job, as the President's personal aide. Prior to this, he had worked as a waiter at the Gramercy Club and for three summers as a golf caddy at Sandy Hook. Charlie's mother was a police officer in Washington, D.
C., killed in the line of duty in June 1999. She was not supposed to be working on the night of her death, having been persuaded to switch shifts by Charlie, his father is said to be "long gone," leaving Charlie to look after his younger sister Deena. Charlie graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School, a public school in D. C. but says that he would have preferred to go to Gonzaga College High School, a Catholic school with a better academic reputation and a comparatively crime-free history. Despite achieving high grades at school, Charlie decides to put off attending college, in order to take up a job and support himself and his sister financially until Deena has finished high school. During the summer of 2001, he enrolls at Georgetown University, taking night classes while still keeping up with the demands of his job. During season one, Charlie begins dating Zoey Bartlet; because of this, he receives death threats from white supremacist groups, is the target of an assassination attempt while leaving an event in Rosslyn, Virginia.
While Charlie is unharmed, Josh Lyman is critically wounded, the President, the head of the President's Secret Service Detail and a woman in the crowd are all injured less seriously. The two are seen going out on a date once after the assassination attempt, but break up for reasons unspecified, he develops a renewed interest in Zoey when she returns in season four with a new boyfriend and after receiving a Dear John email, refuses to stop pursuing her, stating that he is still in love with her. On the night of Zoey's graduation, he hikes through the National Arboretum to dig up a bottle of champagne the two had buried three years earlier, intending to give it to her as a graduation gift. Instead, he finds Zoey waiting with the champagne, she confesses that she is confused about him. Charlie dates Meeshel Anders, played by Gabrielle Union, during season five before learning that she will be working in the White House press room, he asks Zoey out on a date, they are subsequently seen sitting next to one another at Zoey's birthday party in the East Room watching Penn and Teller burn a flag as part of a magic trick.
During season six, it is confirmed that they are dating, when the President catches Charlie sneaking out of Zoey's room. The next day, Charlie hints that he has thought about asking Zoey to marry him, but the storyline is never revisited. At the beginning of season four, C. J. Cregg asks Charlie to become a Big Brother to Anthony Marcus, a troubled young man whose previous Big Brother, Secret Service agent Simon Donovan, has been killed, he declines until he witnesses Anthony disrespect C. J. to her face saying " I don't need a babysitter bitch are you def?" Charlie turns around and slams Anthony against a wall telling him he can "go to Juvenile Detention or meet him at Cosmo's on saturday the choice was his."Although quiet and subservient toward the President and his staff, as Charlie settles into his job he becomes more open with his colleagues and develops a strong rapport with Bartlet. Bartlet demonstrates his affection for Charlie by giving him a carving knife made for Bartlet's ancestors by Paul Revere, stating that it was something passed down: "My father gave it to me and his father gave it to him, now I'm giving it to you."
This father-son dynamic grows stronger as the show progresses, following the abduction of Zoey Bartlet, Charlie is the only non-family member to attend a private mass held for the Bartlets. Charlie displays strong loyalty towards Bartlet and his colleague
Zoey Bartlet
Zoey Patricia Bartlet is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Moss on the television serial drama The West Wing. Zoey is the youngest of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet's three daughters, is featured more prominently in the series than either of her sisters. Zoey and presidential aide Charlie Young become romantically involved in the first season of The West Wing, their interracial relationship prompts a white supremacist organization to target Young unsuccessfully for assassination, although President Bartlet is shot and Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman is badly wounded in the shooting. Zoey and Charlie's relationship ends in the second season due to Charlie's demanding work schedule. By the fourth season, Zoey is seen dating a young French man named Jean-Paul Pierre Claude Charpentier. Zoey graduates summa cum laude from Georgetown University. On her graduation day, she is kidnapped and held for several days, which leads President Bartlet to invoke the 25th Amendment, transferring presidential authority to Speaker of the House Glen Allen Walken as Acting President of the United States.
Jean-Paul's unintentional complicity in the kidnapping ends their relationship. Zoey is found and recovered by the FBI after 50 hours of being missing. In the sixth season and Zoey are shown to have resumed their relationship, with Charlie considering asking Zoey to marry him. No mention is made of the relationship, or her occupation, in the seventh and final season, she is seen only once attending Leo McGarry's funeral. According to President Bartlet, Zoey speaks fluent Italian, her Secret Service codename is "Bookbag". Her birthday is in December, established in the episode "In the Room"; the West Wing List of characters in The West Wing List of politicians in The West Wing List of The West Wing episodes
