President Donald Trump restored the prior name of the Office of Public Liaison (OPL) and re-separated IGA.

President Gerald Ford first formalized the public liaison office after he took office in 1974, giving Nixon administration veteran William J. Baroody Jr. a mandate for OPL to become "an instrument for projecting the image of a truly open administration (in contrast to Nixon's) and to secure Ford's election in 1976.

Under Baroody's direction, the office incorporated outreach efforts with consumers and women that had been located elsewhere in the White House, and the overall staff grew to approximately thirty.

[2] Faith Ryan Whittlesey used her time at OPL to increase the influence of the Christian right[3] and anti-communist groups, such as the Contras in Nicaragua.

[6] Under the Obama administration, the Office of Public Engagement had been referred to as "the front door to the White House, through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President."