I am an assistant professor of political science at the University of Texas at El Paso. I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and my doctoral degree from Texas A&M University. My areas of interest are presidential management, presidential-bureaucratic policy making, the public presidency, presidential-congressional relations, mass media and the rhetorical presidency, and studies on immigration policy and Latino/a politics. I am currently serving as president of the Midwest Latino/a Caucus, board member for the Presidency Research Group of the American Political Science Association, and member of the program planning committee for the Midwest Political Science Association.
Journal Publications
The Obama Administration's Challenges after the "War on Science": Reforming Staffing Practices and Protecting Scientific Integrity in the Executive Branch (with Justin S. Vaughn), Review of Policy Research (2009)
In this article, we examine the difficult leadership position President Barack Obama inherited as he...
Obama’s Empty Cupboard: Contending with Administrative Vacancies and the Threat to Neutral Competence (with Justin S. Vaughn), International Journal of Public Administration (2009)
In this essay, we focus on the public administration challenge concerning the rising number of...
Presidential Staffing and Public Opinion: How Public Opinion Influences Politicization (with Justin S. Vaughn), Administration & Society (2009)
Scholars traditionally frame presidential efforts to politicize the federal bureaucracy as the result of divergence...
The Managing of the Presidency: Applying Theory-Driven Empirical Models to the Study of White House Bureaucratic Performance (with Justin S. Vaughn), Political Research Quarterly (2009)
We argue that scholars of the presidency should begin to apply their rich descriptive understanding...
Conceptualizing and Measuring White House Staff Influence on Presidential Rhetoric (with Justin S. Vaughn), Presidential Studies Quarterly (2006)
Scholars have debated extensively the impact of presidential rhetoric on public opinion and congressional behavior,...
Other Publications
Immigration (as a campaign issue), Encyclopedia of Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior (2008)
Presidential Election of 1980, Encyclopedia of Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior (2008)
When Made to Choose: Cross-Pressured Republican Senators and George W. Bush’s Private Account Plan, A Dialogue on Presidential Challenges and Leadership (2006)
President George W. Bush's "60 Stops in 60 Days" Social Security reform tour provides a...