THE POWER BALANCE BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF AND THE CABINET MEMBERS Yuan Ruijun（97） In the conflict between the White House staff and the cabinet, the status and role of the president's staff are steadily growing and becoming the primary force that the president can rely upon. This plays a positive role in helping the president fulfill his duties more effectively, but at the same time poses worrisome problems to the American political system because the internal power structure within the executive branch has been seriously shaken.