Baker Asks Koehler to Leave White House After Just a Week
White House Communications Director John O. Koehler, named to the post last month only days before embattled White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan resigned, is leaving after only a week on the job at the request of new Chief of Staff Howard H. Baker Jr., an Administration official said Saturday.
Koehler will be transferred to the U. S. Information Agency. His replacement has not been selected, said the official, who refused to be identified.
Koehler could not be reached for comment Saturday.
The official confirmed a report in Saturday’s Washington Post that Baker asked for Koehler’s departure as part of a reorganization of top-level White House positions.
Job Description May Change
The Post said the job of communications director--a forum for political attacks under its most recent occupant, Patrick J. Buchanan--may be changed to include other duties.
Koehler, 56, a longtime Associated Press journalist, was selected to succeed Buchanan last month after a contest between First Lady Nancy Reagan and Regan, who is reported to have bridled at Mrs. Reagan’s involvement in filling the post.
Until his appointment last month, Koehler ran a public relations firm whose clients included the USIA.
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