room and broken into a smile, visibly moved. In season six, during a Middle East peace negotiation at Camp David, McGarry finds it impossible to support Bartlet's position about sending thousands of American soldiers to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as part of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement, and Bartlet and McGarry come to an agreement that McGarry will resign at the first available opportunity. Minutes after the conversation, McGarry suffers a near-fatal heart attack and collapses while walking alone in the grounds. He is resuscitated, survives, and later returns to work after Bartlet's last State of the Union address in a new role as Senior Counselor to the President. McGarry is succeeded as Chief of Staff by his personal recommendation, C. J. Cregg, who previously served as the White House Press Secretary. Senior Counselor to the President As Senior Counselor, Leo encourages staffers to present new ideas and resurrect old policy initiatives that have been abandoned out of political necessity, insisting that they could "accomplish more in one day in the White House than in a lifetime" once they leave. He maintains a board in his office that shows how many days remain for the Administration and the initiatives which have been proposed. Among these initiatives are a serious attempt at health care reform, new foreign policy approaches in Latin America, and trying to convince Congress to enact an earned income tax credit (called by Charlie Young and Annabeth Schott a 'poor tax' to make it easier to defend). Leo also leads an attempt to open negotiations between the US and Cuba to lift the blockade and reestablish diplomatic relations, an issue which faces significant opposition from Republicans, Democrats, and the intelligence community. The initiative is eventually endorsed by President Bartlet in a televised address to the nation, vindicating Leo's efforts and allowing him to accomplish what he had failed to do as Labor Secretary at a summit in 1995. In the aftermath of Josh's departure to run Matt Santos's presidential campaign, Leo begins taking on some of the assignments from Josh's portfolio at C.J.'s request. However, he points out to her that Josh's departure has left a significant workload that requires a new Deputy White House Chief of Staff on a permanent basis. Seeing similarities with Josh, Leo champions lobbyist Cliff Calley to take over strategic planning and legislative affairs. Although C.J. is at first reluctant to hire