Pete Rouse

About Pete Rouse

Pete Rouse (born 1946) is chief of staff for Senator Barack Obama. Rouse had filled a similar role for South Dakota Senator Thomas A. Daschle, the former majority leader. Reportedly, after losing re-election, Daschle had hoped that Rouse would continue to work with him. Instead, Rouse was contacted by a Harvard Law School friend of Obama's and chose to work for Obama in 2004 (Bacon 2007).

Rouse helped prepare a memo, "The Strategic Plan," for Obama's first year in the Senate. Helping Obama navigate Senate politics and yet remain an outsider, Rouse advised Obama against criticizing Democratic Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) while voting against ethics reform legislation. (Obama worked with Senator Russell Feingold on strengthening amendments). Similarly, he suggested that Obama speak with Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Joseph I. Lieberman in the early stages of exploring his presidential candidacy. Rouse also is credited with persuading Obama to vote against the nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., who is now Chief Justice of the United States (Bacon 2007).

Overall, Rouse has worked on Capitol Hill for more than 30 years, since 1971. According to Amy Sullivan (Washington Monthly), Rouse came to be known as "the 101st Senator" thanks to his knowledge and skills. Rouse has spoken against the partisanship in Washington politics: "We’ve got to try harder to find principled compromises... We have to change our politics." (Basnight 2007).