Cassandra Butts
Encyclopedia
Cassandra Quin Butts is a United States lawyer, policy expert and former Deputy White House counsel. On December 23, 2008, Butts was selected by President-elect Obama to serve as Deputy White House Counsel, focusing on domestic policy and ethics. She was also on the advisory board for then-president-elect
Barack Obama
's presidential transition team
. She stepped down as Deputy White Counsel in November 2009 and now serves as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Chief Executive Officer at the Millennium Challenge Corporation
.
, New York
, Butts moved to Durham, North Carolina
at age 9. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and in 1991 from Harvard Law School
where she was a classmate of Barack Obama and the two became close friends.
Butts' first job was as a counselor at the Y.M.C.A. in Durham, North Carolina. After college she worked for a year as a researcher with the African News Service
in Durham. She was an election observer in the 2000 Zimbabwean parliamentary elections and a counsel to Senator Harris Wofford
of Pennsylvania. Butts did litigation and policy work for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc
, and spent seven years working a senior adviser to US Representative
Dick Gephardt
of Missouri. She became the Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy at the Center for American Progress
.
announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court
, Butts was in frequent contact with President Obama's eventual nominee to replace Souter, Sonia Sotomayor
.
Butts also had been rumored in February 2009 to be a candidate to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
. She also previously had been rumored to be a candidate to serve as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
and as White House Staff Secretary.
. Butts' departure was considered to be one of the highest-level departures up to that point from the office of the White House Counsel
, and it was followed one week later by the announcement of the departure of Butts' then-boss, White House Counsel Gregory Craig.
President-elect of the United States
President-elect of the United States is the title used for an incoming President of the United States in the period between the general election on Election Day in November and noon eastern standard time on Inauguration Day, January 20, during which he is not in office yet...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's presidential transition team
Presidential transition of Barack Obama
The presidential transition of Barack Obama began when he won the United States presidential election on November 4, 2008, and became the President-Elect. He was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 15, 2008...
. She stepped down as Deputy White Counsel in November 2009 and now serves as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Chief Executive Officer at the Millennium Challenge Corporation
Millennium Challenge Corporation
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency created by the George W. Bush administration in 2004, applying a new philosophy towards foreign aid.-Background and formation:...
.
Biography
Born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Butts moved to Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
at age 9. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
and in 1991 from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
where she was a classmate of Barack Obama and the two became close friends.
Butts' first job was as a counselor at the Y.M.C.A. in Durham, North Carolina. After college she worked for a year as a researcher with the African News Service
AllAfrica.com
AllAfrica.com is a website that aggregates news produced primarily on the African continent about all areas of African life, politics, issues and culture. It is available in both English and French and produced by AllAfrica Global Media, which has offices in Cape Town, Dakar, Lagos, Monrovia,...
in Durham. She was an election observer in the 2000 Zimbabwean parliamentary elections and a counsel to Senator Harris Wofford
Harris Wofford
Harris Llewellyn Wofford served as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995 and as the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College, and is a noted advocate of national service and volunteering...
of Pennsylvania. Butts did litigation and policy work for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City....
, and spent seven years working a senior adviser to US Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Dick Gephardt
Dick Gephardt
Richard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a lobbyist and former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to...
of Missouri. She became the Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy at the Center for American Progress
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...
.
Deputy White House Counsel
During her time as Deputy White House Counsel, Butts focused most on judicial nominations. Records later showed that in the days after Associate Justice David SouterDavid Souter
David Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J...
announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, Butts was in frequent contact with President Obama's eventual nominee to replace Souter, Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
.
Butts also had been rumored in February 2009 to be a candidate to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is an independent federal law enforcement agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, perceived intelligence,...
. She also previously had been rumored to be a candidate to serve as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the President's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Housing...
and as White House Staff Secretary.
Current work
On November 6, 2009, Obama named Butts to serve as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge CorporationMillennium Challenge Corporation
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency created by the George W. Bush administration in 2004, applying a new philosophy towards foreign aid.-Background and formation:...
. Butts' departure was considered to be one of the highest-level departures up to that point from the office of the White House Counsel
White House Counsel
The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States.-Role:The Counsel's role is to advise the President on all legal issues concerning the President and the White House...
, and it was followed one week later by the announcement of the departure of Butts' then-boss, White House Counsel Gregory Craig.