American Notes

Donald Regan is a clean-desk man, and the new White House Chief of Staff brings the same cool efficiency to management. Largely at his urging, President Reagan last week consolidated his Cabinet councils, merging seven policymaking groups into two Cabinet-level agencies. Treasury Secretary James Baker will head one, advising the President on economic matters, while Attorney General Edwin Meese will be President Reagan's chief Cabinet adviser on domestic questions. Said the President of the change: "It will provide for added accountability and efficiency in formulating and implementing policy."

The new structure will simplify the lines of authority in the Cabinet. Under the old plan, there were separate policy councils for a wide variety of makeshift realms, and this fragmented approach tended to stall in the face of major decisions. One significant implication of the organizational change is that Meese's role will be larger than previously supposed. A Reaganaut of long standing, he will have the broad charter to supervise social policy that he enjoyed as one of President Reagan's original "troika" of White House aides.