During this period he also served on the Cabinet Council on Management and Administration 1982-1985, the President's Commission on White House Fellowships 1981-1985, the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, 1981-1985, the President's Commission on Executive Exchange 1981-1987, and the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee on Education 1988-1990.
Devine's government experiences during this period were recorded in his 1991 book Reagan's Terrible Swift Sword: Reforming and Controlling the Federal Bureaucracy The book explained how the Reagan Administration analyzed and reformed the Federal Government against the opposition of its bureaucracy and political establishment.