Deborah Fiderer is a character in the NBC television series The West Wing. She is portrayed by noted actress and comediene Lily Tomlin. The character first appeared during the program's third season.

After the death of President Josiah Bartlet's previous private secretary Delores Landingham, Bartlet was extremely reluctant to come to terms with her death fully by hiring a permanent replacement. Finally prevailed upon to do so by the White House staff, most of the proposed candidates did not meet with the President's approval. Although they were all highly qualified, they lacked the character and sense of humour that the President was looking for. In contrast, Fiderer was opinionated, strong willed, perhaps eccentric and in any case very much her own woman. Along with his wife, she is perhaps the character most concerned about preventing the President from being overworked in the light of his multiple sclerosis.

She was previously Debby DiLaguardia, and worked for the White House in personnel. She was responsible for hiring Charlie, passing over David Dweck, the son of a powerful Democratic Party contributor. It was for this, and not for being a "whack job" (as the President describes her), that she was fired from her previous position.

See also

• The West Wing
• Characters on The West Wing
• List of The West Wing episodes