White House's Next Task: Rebuilding Policy Team

President Barack Obama, with his party perhaps on the cusp of a major electoral defeat, also faces the burden of recalibrating his presidency while restocking the West Wing's depleted policy team.

The National Economic Council has seen its influence wane with the announced resignation of Director Lawrence Summers and the difficult search for a successor, say former White House officials. The scope and scale of its economic proposals have shrunk drastically and gained little traction. The White House budget office remains without permanent leadership three months after the departure of former chief Peter Orszag, shifting responsibility to junior staff members as Congress struggles to pass a budget for fiscal 2011, which began this month. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's exit several weeks ago, meanwhile, robbed the president of one of his most powerful policy strategists. The National Security Council also faces a major transition, as James Jones gives way to new National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, admired for his administrative skills but not known as a policy maker.