Myers’ Future White House Role Uncertain

A long-anticipated plan for reorganization of the White House appeared ready for another hasty revision Thursday night after Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers met with President Clinton to convince him not to immediately replace her with State Department spokesman Michael D. McCurry.

As a result, it appeared late Thursday that Myers, one of the Administration’s most visible faces, would stay on until near the end of the year in an expanded role designed to give her greater access to the inner circle, according to officials. At that point, McCurry would take over.

The changes are part of a reorganization considered by Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta since his appointment on June 27, and may be announced as early as today.

The shake-up would also move Communications Director Mark D. Gearan into a long-range strategy and planning job, reporting to Panetta, and make George Stephanopoulos, now a senior adviser with a broad portfolio, an assistant to the President for policy. He, too, would report to Panetta.

But noting the quick changes of direction by the White House on other job announcements--such as the Supreme Court nominations--officials cautioned that details of the deal could still be undone by Clinton.

Myers, 33, who was raised in Valencia, Calif., became a target of criticism amid complaints about the White House’s inability to publicize its successes and to convey an impression of internal order. She has been criticized for lacking access to the White House’s inner circles; some outsiders have also said that as the chief spokeswoman she reinforced the image of the White House as a preserve of the young and inexperienced.

A stalwart of the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign, Myers has been one of the best-liked members of the White House staff for her good humor and quick wit. Panetta’s long and public deliberations over her fate anguished her friends, particularly as she was forced to answer questions about her possible ouster in the daily briefings.

“It’s just a shame the way it was handled,” said one staff member. “She is just one of the best people around here, amazingly devoid of ego and all that stuff.”

Even with a delay, Myers’ expected resignation--which follows the departure of several other top female aides in the White House--would probably cause some discomfort for an Administration that has boasted of its gender and racial diversity.

Myers was the White House’s first female press secretary, although she never occupied the press secretary’s traditional office, which was filled by her boss, Gearan. Myers also had a lower title--deputy assistant to the President--and made less money than earlier press secretaries.

As recently as Thursday morning, many White House staff members expected to hear an announcement that Myers would be given bigger responsibilities and greater access, and would retain at least some briefing role.

She has been pursued for several outside jobs, including as co-host of the CNBC network show “Equal Time,” with former Republican Party spokeswoman Mary Matalin. Myers has been Matalin’s choice for the job, which would probably double her current $100,000 salary.

But she has also said recently she would like to return to California, where she worked for Sen. Dianne Feinstein during Feinstein’s first senatorial campaign, and for former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

Rumors about the impending announcement again roiled the White House on Thursday as Panetta talked to staff members one by one. Myers’ regular briefing was first delayed, then canceled altogether.

But White House officials turned aside suggestions that this was to avoid the necessity of an on-camera discussion of the personnel changes, insisting that it was only because of a flurry of news over a NATO airstrike in Bosnia and other events.

If Clinton does choose McCurry as his press secretary, he would again be turning to an experienced Washington hand. The 39-year-old McCurry was earlier the spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, as well as for the 1992 presidential campaign of Sen. Bob Kerrey and the 1988 presidential campaign of Bruce Babbitt, now Interior secretary. Earlier, he was spokesman for Democratic senators Harrison Williams of New Jersey, Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, and John Glenn of Ohio.

McCurry’s campaign association with Kerrey--then a bitter Clinton foe--made some in the Clinton camp wary of him during the early days of the Administration. And it remains to be seen whether McCurry would be accepted within the Clinton inner circle, as he needs to be to succeed in the difficult press post.

McCurry continued to insist as recently as Wednesday that he expected no decision on the job for some time. At the State Department briefing on Thursday, he told reporters he “didn’t know (the reports of his move) to be true,” then insisted that “You’ll see me at the podium here each and everyday. Five days a week. U.S. State Department.”

The White House staff reorganization is also expected to see Bruce Lindsey, a Clinton confidant who carries the title of senior adviser, move to the general counsel’s office as a deputy to Abner J. Mikva.

Philip Lader, deputy chief of staff for administration, is expected to change jobs with Erskine Bowles, director of the Small Business Administration.

And there may be a new head of the White House political office, whose current head, Joan Baggett, has told insiders she wants to resign. A rumored front-runner is John Emerson, who was widely praised for his efforts in coordinating the quick federal response to this year’s Southern California earthquake.

Ricki Seidman plans to leave as director of scheduling to become director of Rock the Vote, a Los Angeles-based organization aimed at younger voters. Her job is expected to go to Billy Webster, a longtime Clinton ally who has worked in the U.S. Department of Education.

Panetta has said that his reorganization is intended to streamline a White House that has been criticized for having too many free-floating staff members with ill-defined portfolios. He is expected to try to reduce the number of assistants to the President.

Still, even some within the Administration have questioned whether a reorganization that has centered on the image-making function will have much of an impact on Clinton’s many difficulties.