Working at the White House: Management and Administration Assistant to the President, Maju Varghese

This season, we've been going to the White House trying to understand how the Presidential administration's employees operate and interact. To get a better sense of how the building itself operates, we spoke to Maju Varghese, Assistant to the President for Management and Administration. A former of member of the President's advance team, Varghese is now responsible for the literal management of the White House itself, looking after teams that handle everything from maintenance, to payroll, to the visitor's office. We chatted with him in his cavernous office on a day when President Obama was meeting with the Prime Minister of Singapore, an event that had the White House campus abuzz. Even as he helped manage that energy, Varghese was still working to ensure that everything else functioned smoothly. He told us about how he makes sure that everyone's talking to one another and discussed how the White House has changed in his time there. . 

In a Slate Plus Extra, Varghese describes how he ended up in his current role, going from working on the Gore campaign in 2000, to earning a law degree, to joining the President's advance team. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus.