Hope Hicks's resignation, Jared Kushner's security-clearance downgrade and the gun-control debate appear to have very little in common. But they are in fact connected to a larger problem: President Trump's lack of control over the White House and, consequently, his weakness as a president.
Presidents have a high-profile role in lawmaking and foreign policy, but a third function, executive administration, is arguably the most important. The job of carrying out the law provides the executive branch with incredible amounts of discretion.
But the executive branch is not subject to the president's dictatorial control. Presidents compete with numerous actors — Congress, the courts, interest groups, political appointees in the departments and agencies, and career civil servants — for influence. Effective management of the White House is a precondition for presidential power and influence in the executive branch.
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