White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Washington Celebrates Oscar Winner Graham Moore’s Latest Novel

By

Graham Moore Book Party 9/28/16

DC’s biggest names descended on the house of Hilary Rosen to celebrate the latest novel from The Imitation Game screenwriter Graham Moore, The Last Days of Night. Moore’s last project, The Imitation Game, which tells the story of mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing, won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, and his heartfelt acceptance speech has become the stuff of legend.

Moore’s latest novel tells the story of the rivalry between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, the early days of electric light in America, and the eventual billion dollar lawsuit that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The novel also features appearances from other historical figures such as Nikola Tesla and JP Morgan.

Susan Sher, former Chief of Staff to First Lady Michelle Obama and Moore’s mother, was there to celebrate her son’s accomplishments with assistance from Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to Barack Obama. Tammy Haddad interviewed Moore about his new book and the reaction to his Oscars acceptance speech.

Also in attendance were Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, former California Rep. Jane Harman, Tony Fauci and Christine Grady, author Sally Quinn, Executive Vice President for Time Warner Carol Melton, corporate consultant Juleanna Glover, Howard Fineman and Amy Nathan, Director of the White House Visitors Office Ellie Schafer, S&R Foundation Artistic Director Septime Webre, Director of Branding & Communication at Lafayette 148 New York King Chong, Shinola’s Tom Forrest, Bloomberg’s Washington Bureau Chief Megan Murphy, Marc Adelman, VP of Communications for CNN Matt Dornic, Managing Editor of Bloomberg News Craig Gordon, and BSA President Victoria Espinel.

You can also purchase Graham Moore’s new novel The Last Days of Night here.

Watch Vice President Joe Biden’s Message to Federal Employees at the Sammies Awards

By

The Samuel J Heyman Service to America awards were held Tuesday, September 20th and Vice President Joe Biden delivered a special message to the winners as well as all federal employees saying, “You could have chosen a number of professions and be making a lot more money, but you chose to serve your country. You’re professional, you’re dedicated. You’re the best the buy the American people get and they don’t know it.”

You can find photos from the big event below.

Sammies Awards 2016

Recognizing the Best in Government at the Sammies Awards

By

Michael Kelly, Denis McDonough, and Stephanie Ruhle at the Sammies Awards, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

Michael Kelly, Denis McDonough, and Stephanie Ruhle at the Sammies Awards, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

This year’s Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Awards, better known as the Sammies, honored the finest in government service. The event was held Tuesday, September 20th at the historic Andrew Mellon W. Auditorium.

Hosting the big event were Michael Kelly, who plays Doug Stamper on Netflix’s House of Cards, along with NBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. Together they added humor and wit to the night’s proceedings. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough caught up with Michael Kelly, who portrays the role McDonough fills in real life. At the winner’s reception, they got a chance to thank and mingle with the winners of this year’s awards.

Among the VIP’s at this year’s awards were:

  • Ronnie and Larry Heyman
  • Tom Bernstein, co-founder, Chelsea Piers
  • NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
  • IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
  • Fmr. Representative Tom Davis
  • Sean O’Keefe, former NASA Administrator
  • Former Campbell’s Soup CEO Doug Conant
  • Deputy Secretary Chris Lu, Department of Labor
  • Former Rep. Mike Rogers
  • Rep. Garret Graves
  • Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Sarah Raskin
  • White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough
  • Former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy
  • Stephanie Ruhle, NBC News Weekend Today Show and MSNBC
  • Michael Kelly, House of Cards Chief of Staff Doug Stamper
  • OMB Director Shaun Donovan
  • Admiral Thad Allen (Ret.)
  • Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy
  • Former WH Chief of Staff Josh Bolten
  • Rep. David Price (D-N.C.)

You can read more about the event and the winners of this year’s Sammies here.

Washington Set to Honor Federal Employees at Tonight’s Sammies Awards

By

House of Cards' Michael Kelly, Sammies Awards emcee, at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Garden Brunch, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

House of Cards’ Michael Kelly, Sammies Awards emcee, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Garden Brunch, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

The Partnership for Public Service’s 15th annual awards gala the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, or the Sammies, will be held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium this evening. Known as the Oscars of civil service, the Sammies will honor the federal employees who made the biggest contributions to American life. Civil servants often don’t get credit for their work and the Partnership for Public Service is using this night to give credit where credit is due. The emcees of this year’s awards will be House of Cards’ Michael Kelly, who plays the ruthless Chief of Staff Doug Stamper to President Underwood, and NBC’s Stephanie Ruhle.

The recipients of Sammies awards save lives, innovate, discover, and preserve national security. This year’s Federal Employees of the Year award will go to Jean Moody-Williams, Dennis Wagner, and Paul McGann, a team from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who were able to reduce hospital-acquired medical conditions by 40%.

Among the other winners includes Jaques Reifman, who invented a device for army medics in the field to find out if they have internal bleeding. Undetected internal bleeding is the number one cause of death for war casualties and this device has the potential to save many of these lives. Another is Tate Jarrow, who has lead the Secret Service in investigating some of the biggest cybercrime cases in history. Jarrow will receive this year’s Call to Service award.

Another outstanding public servant will be honored tonight is Kirk Yeager, the FBI’s top explosive scientist, who will receive the National Security and International Affairs Medal for his work in training local bomb squads in how to handle live explosives.

Vice President Joe Biden will address the nominees this year in a special video message. “You could have chosen a number of professions and be making a lot more money, but you chose to serve your country. You’re professional, you’re dedicated. You’re the best the buy the American people get and they don’t know it.”

The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service is an organization who makes government more effective with a number of programs like mentorship programs for incoming government workers, inter-agency briefings to decrease overlap between agencies, and courses to ensure federal employees have the most up to date training they need.

You can read more about this year’s winners here.

The live feed for the Sammies can be found here.

DC Media and Politicos Welcome Back Jill Hazelbaker

By

Uber execs Todd Bowers, Megan Capiak, Crysten Glawe, Dave Barmore with the milkshake man from Captain Cookie and the Milkman Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

Uber execs Todd Bowers, Megan Capiak, Crysten Glawe, Dave Barmore with the milkshake man from Captain Cookie and the Milkman, one of UberEATS’ most popular delivery places, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

Friends and colleagues gathered Tuesday night, September 13, to welcome Jill Hazelbaker, one of their own, back to Washington DC. Hazelbaker is currently Senior VP of Public Policy and Communications at Uber after longtime executive positions at SnapChat and Google. Hazelbaker had previously served as an aide to Sen. John McCain. Politicos, media, and techies gathered in the backyard of Tammy Haddad, the former site at the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch, to catch up with Jill and enjoy food from UberEATS vendors.

Jill Hazelbaker, Michelle Lee, Niki Christoff, Cecilia Kang

Jill Hazelbaker, Michelle Lee, Niki Christoff, Cecilia Kang at Uber EATS Dinner

Among the guests were Greta Van Susteren, recently departed from FOX, and her husband John Coale. Guests like Facebook’s Erin Egan were talking about the 4 million viewers Susteren had from her most recent Facebook post. The link to Greta’s post is here.

Guests from the White House included Shailagh Murray, Deesha Dyer and Kirby Bumpus. Marty Baron, Editor of Washington Post was seen talking to former employee Cecilia Kang, now with the New York Times. Her colleague Jeremy Peters, Rick Klein, Betsy Fischer Martin, Robin Sproul, Kevin Cirilli and Craig Gordon rounded out the political journalists.  Hill favorites Heather Podesta, Juleanna Glover, Kimberley Fritts and Ron Bonjean were on hand.  Four Seasons Women Breakfast Club members Carol Melton, DeDe Lea were also in attendance.

Food for the gathering was provided by a variety of UberEATS vendors such as Mason Dixie Biscuit Co., Captain Cookie and the Milkman, Zombie Donuts, Ghibellina, Chaia, Hill Country BBQ, Buredo,  and The Chickery.

 

Garden Brunch Guests Share Their Advice For ‘Starting Out And Starting Up’

By

As guests arrived at the 2016 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch, they were asked to share their advice for individuals who are seeking to launch a new career and change the world.

Scroll through the slideshow for insights shared by successful individuals from business, entertainment, media and politics.

Sheila Johnson Sachiko Kuno Rosario Dawson Robin Bronk Todd Harris and Ieva Augstums Betsy Fischer-Martin Ashley Graham Heather Podesta Jeff Goldblum Joanna Coles Debbie Dingell Gugu Mbatha-Raw Helen Mirren Jazmyn Simon and Dule Hill Stephanie Ruhle Sela Ward Deesha Dyer Amy Klobuchar Gayle King Derrick and Emma Dockery Omarosa Greta Van Susteren Kevin Plank Bridget Moynahan Jaimie Alexander Joy Behar Anne V Tony Goldwyn Gary Knell Arianna Huffington and Travis Kalanick Guillermo Diaz Wolf Blitzer Daniela Lopez David Adler Michael Eric and Marcia Dyson Brian and Jamie Stelter Neve Campbell Jessie Usher Jeff Perry Scott Foley Constance Zimmer Matthew and Renee Morrison Lisa Edelstein Candace Cameron Bure
<
►
>
"Life is about filling your plate with everything you want. Don't push your food around. Don't take less than what you need or more than you can chew. But definitely wipe it clean!" - Rosario Dawson

A special thanks to Microsoft for providing the interactive PPI board.

Political Power Players Attend White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

By

Valerie Jarrett, Laura Jarrett

Valerie Jarrett, Laura Jarrett

Washington power players made an appearance at the annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch over the weekend.

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, attended with her daughter Laura Jarrett. Other members of the White House staff included Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady, and Krishanti Vignarajah, Policy Director at the White House. They were joined by Ellie Schafer, Director of the White House Visitors Office and The Most Powerful Person in Washington That You’ve Never Heard Of, according to Capitol File. 

Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20)

Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20)

Capitol Hill was also well represented at the brunch. Congressmen from all corners of the country were in attendance, including Representative Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Representative Steve Cohen (TN-09), and Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-12). 

Dozens of Hollywood Stars Make a Splash at Annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

By

Kevin Plank, Daniela Lopez Osorio, Bryan Cranston and Jay Roach

Kevin Plank, Daniela Lopez Osorio, Bryan Cranston and Jay Roach

Some of the biggest stars in television who were in Washington for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner stopped by the annual Garden Brunch.

House of Cards favorite Michael Kelly, in a return appearance for Correspondents’ weekend, led the parade of TV stars along with co-star Neve Campbell who recently joined the cast of House of Cards for season four. They were rounded out by House of Cards alum, Constance Zimmer, who is also starring in the TV series, UnREAL.

'House of Cards' Star Michael Kelly

‘House of Cards’ Star Michael Kelly

There were three ‘presidents’ in attendance: Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn, Independence Day’s Sela Ward, who plays the first woman president, and Esia Morales from HBO’s The Brink.

Television executives were also on hand, from Nina Lederman of All3Media America, Deborah Turness of NBC News, Steve Capus, Executive Producer of CBS Evening News, and Chris Licht, the new Executive Producer of the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Besides all the TV stars, a few famous faces from the film word were also in town. HBO’s film All the Way, which was honored at the HBO-Google party at the Renwick Gallery (voted the best WHCD weekend party by Roll Call readers) was attended by star Bryan Cranston and his wife Robin Dearden, along with Director Jay Roach and HBO Films President Len Amato and Vice President Tara Grace.

 

 

Google/HBO White House Correspondents’ Weekend Party

By

Google, HBO and the Smithsonian American Art Museum partnered on Friday night for a White House Correspondents’ Weekend party to celebrate HBO Films’ “All the Way.” Actor Bryan Cranston and Director Jay Roach were the featured guests.

 

And if Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren are having this much fun, you know it was a great party. Thank you, HBO and Google!

Mirren Cranston