Reagan to Be Activist President Until He Leaves, Chief of Staff Says

President Reagan will be an activist President until his successor takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, his chief of staff said Tuesday.

“He’s not going to ride off in the sunset but will be active, on top and in command,” Kenneth M. Duberstein said as Americans voted to select Reagan’s successor.

Duberstein said he had no doubts that in heading Reagan’s transition team he will be working with representatives of a victorious Republican nominee.

‘Will Go Smoothly’

“I think you’re going to see both (Reagan and Bush) working together as they have continually for eight years (as President and vice president),” he said. “I expect the transition will go smoothly.”

Reagan plans to move quickly to maintain his leadership even as the transition is under way, Duberstein said, including starting a series of speeches to “share with the people” what he has learned in nearly eight years in the White House. An address on national television is planned.

Reagan will meet visiting Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov on Monday. Other visiting foreign leaders include Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany, visiting Tuesday, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Wednesday.

Duberstein said Reagan will submit his last budget to Congress on Jan. 9.

The time is short. Returning from campaigning in California for Bush on Monday, Duberstein said Reagan remarked he has “so much to do and so little time.”