Hillary Clinton reportedly wanted to be Bill's chief of staff

Hillary Clinton was up for the challenge.
(Image credit: TIM CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

When her husband assumed the presidency in 1993, first lady Hillary Clinton faced a lot of criticism for taking on a public, policy-based role when she headed up the push to make health care universal. Nine days before Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president, in fact, the first lady-elect was already sitting in on meetings regarding health-care reform. But according to one former Clinton adviser cited in a comprehensive Washington Post article on Hillary's failed health-care push, "health-care task force leader" was not initially the front-facing title Hillary wanted in her husband's administration:

Dick Morris, a former Clinton adviser who is now a critic, said the idea [to lead a health-care task force] emerged from "a whole series of phone calls and a meeting at the governor's mansion" with [Hillary]. He said she first proposed becoming White House chief of staff — an idea Morris said he discouraged. She pondered attorney general or secretary of education, he said. Morris suggested she consider leading an important task force that would boost "her own credentials and her own accomplishments," he said. [The Washington Post]

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.