White House Correspondents Insider

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

Barbara and Jenna Hager Bush WHCInsider Interview

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Barbara Bush, Jenna Bush, Tammy Haddad. Photo courtesy Haddad Media

WHCInsider co-founder Tammy Haddad spoke with Barbara and Jenna Bush, #SistersFirst, at a book party hosted by Connie Milstein, Dr. Mark Dybul and Anita McBride at The Jefferson Hotel.

While they would not reveal the joke their father, President George W Bush whispered to President Obama at the Hurricane relief event, they twins explained why they have the best jobs in the world.

Barbara Bush is the founder of Global Health Corps, an NGO that places 216 fellows from 12 countries in positions with health organizations, such as Partners In Health and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, in Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia, and the United States. She told Haddad they look for “rational dreamers” to join the program.

Jenna Hager Bush is a teacher, author, mother of two and Today show correspondent. She said through her reporting she was surprised by the “unexpected beauty of life.”

Both claimed Dr. Mark Dybul, who started PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, on behalf of President George W. Bush, as their inspiration for their focus on helping others.

Dybul thanked Connie Milstein for raising awareness of good works and good people.

The full interview is on the Washington Insider podcast on iTunes.

Trump Family Hosts White House Easter Egg Roll

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Photo courtesy the White House.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted their first White House Easter Egg Roll, amidst recent doubts the event would even take place.

With weather being overcast and cool on Monday, the Trumps welcomed children and their families from across the nation to partake in the 139-year tradition, with crowds approaching 20,000 people expected. About 200 volunteers – a fifth of the normal number – staffed the event.

Guests participated in activities beyond the egg rolling itself, including an egg hunt, decorating cookies, writing letters to U.S. troops, participating in a Minecraft coding activity with volunteers from Microsoft, and characters such as the Easter Bunny and Sesame Street’s Elmo.

Addressing the crowd, the President thanked the crowds and the soldiers deployed around the globe.

“We will be stronger and bigger and better as a nation than ever before and we are right on track…. Thanks you everybody for coming. We’re going to do cards for soldiers. Melania and Barron and myself are going to sign some cards for some great troops… We’re going come out and join you… for a great Easter egg roll.”

The first lady also addressed the participants, saying it was the “first time my husband and I are hosting this wonderful tradition. It’s great that all of you are here with us today. I want to thank the military band, staff and all the volunteers who worked tirelessly to make sure you enjoy the activities.”

At 10:30 AM, as a slight rain slowed to a drizzle, the Trumps joined scores of children waiting to begin.

“I’ve seen those kids and they’re highly, highly competitive,” the president said.

How important is President Trump’s Easter Egg Roll? This year Mark Halperin was on site as well as the usual morning show hosts including the Today Show’s Al Roker.

As White House Tours Resume, President Trump Surprises Visitors With Personal Welcome

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

First Lady Melania Trump recently announced that White House tours would resume this morning.

“I am excited to reopen the White House to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come each year. The White House is a remarkable and historic site and we are excited to share its beauty and history. I am committed to the restoration and preservation of our Nation’s most recognizable landmark.”

As the visitors embarked on their 45-minute self-guided tour, one group was surprised when President Donald Trump emerged from behind a screen on the first floor of the White House, near a portrait of former First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Trump welcomed a touring group of grade school children and invited them to pose with him for a photo, which Jack Cornish from Birmingham, Alabama, took the president up on his offer. Before returning to his private quarters, the president told the group of students to “work hard everybody, work hard.”

White House tours are open to the general public and can be obtained by requesting tickets through congressional offices. Tours take place Tuesday through Saturday.

First Lady’s Legacy Transcends Race

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First Lady Michelle Obama announces the Best Picture Oscar to Argo live from the Diplomatic Room of the White House, Feb. 24, 2013. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

As the Obama transition out of the White House, we can start to gauge the impact of Michelle Obama on the office of First Lady and her role in American history.

From the outset, her status in history books was already assumed to be set: she would be the first African-American first lady.

But it is clear that her impact on society transcends and expands beyond just that single fact.

Entering the White House in 2009, Michelle made clear her first focus was on the Obama girls, Malia and Sasha, who were 10 and 7 at the time. Michelle’s initial travel and event schedule was quieter than prior first ladies, in order to allow her to spend more time with her daughters.

However, on a trip to London that year, Obama realized the influence and empowerment she could bestow through her position, especially with children and especially disadvantaged youth.

“If you want to know the reason why I’m standing here, it’s because of education. I loved getting A’s. I liked being smart. I loved being on time. I loved getting my work done. I thought being smart was cooler than anything in the world,” she said on that trip. This message would be the backbone of her message as First Lady throughout her time in the White House.

Obama started to “turn the needle” to spend time and effort with projects such as childhood obesity, education, veterans and military families, healthy eating, the Let’s Move! Initiative, and even creating a White House garden.

At the dedication of the garden, Obama said:

“This garden has taught us that if we have the courage to plant a seed, just be brave enough to plant it, then take care of it, water it, tend to it, invite friends to help us take care of it, weather the storms that inevitably come, if we have the courage to do that, we never know what might grow. Now that’s what this garden has taught me, to be fearless in those efforts, to try some new things, to not be afraid to mess up. Things we tell our kids all the time.”

Even when she becomes former first lady, Michelle Obama has cemented that message in the lives of millions of Americans and people across the globe.

White House Turns Magical for Christmas Season

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White House Christmas 2011. CC photo courtesy of Tim Evanson on Flickr.

Visitors can tour the White House year-round, though during the Christmas season welcomes people from around the globe to see a holiday celebration like no other.

The theme for this year is “The Gift of the Holidays,” reflecting on gifts that matter, including “service, friends and family, education and good health,” per the White House press release.

The White House has been transformed into a winter wonderland for the Christmas season, complete with over 6,000 ornaments, 8,000 bows and ribbons, 25,000 yarn pom-poms, and over 50 Lego gingerbread houses. The White House invited 92 volunteers from around the country to assist with decorating this year. Rafanelli Events designed the décor.

Guests will find the White House Gingerbread House weighing in at 150 pounds of gingerbread and 20 pounds of icing. A long-standing tradition during the Christmas season, first ladies Martha Washington and Dolley Madison made a soft version of this cake to treat visitors.

This year, only 10% of the decorations are new, with most being recycled or re-purposed from previous Christmas seasons.

If you wish to tour the White House yourself, you can visit the White House Visitors Office website for more information.

WHC Flashback to Ellis Schafer reflecting on the final Easter Egg Roll of the Obama administration earlier this year.  Schafer is the Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Director of the White House Visitors Office.

First Lady Michelle Obama gives White House State Dining Room a facelift

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First Lady Michelle Obama has redecorated the White House State Dining Room for the first time since the Clinton Administration. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

First Lady Michelle Obama has redecorated the White House State Dining Room for the first time since the Clinton Administration. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

The White House State Dining Room, the top destination for locals and dignitaries, has been redecorated by First Lady Michelle Obama for the first time since the Clinton administration.

The changes include new curtains, whose peacock blue and ecru stripes compliment the “Kailua” blue in the Obama state china service, both of which incorporate a Hawaiian feel from Obama’s home state. The new mahogany, custom-made chairs, however, take influence from President James Monroe’s chair selection for the East Room in 1818.

A new blue-green, custom-made rug was also acquired, which includes designs from the ceiling of the dining room in its intricately woven stitching. Installment on two new rugs, so they could be switched out for cleaning, began in 2012.

In total, the redecoration cost the privately funded White House Historical Association’s White House Endowment Trust $590,000. The Old Family Dining Room, which Michelle Obama redecorated earlier this year, cost $290,000 and now sports a more modern feel with abstract art and bold colors.

Read more about the State Dining Room’s redecoration on bigstory.ap.org.

Obama 2 Inauguration Speakers Announced

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The Presidential Inaugural Committee keeps rolling out the announcements as they figure out how to handle getting more tickets to people who had planned to purchase on line. Here is today’s release.

WASHINGTON, DC — The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) announced today that Mrs. Myrlie Evers-Williams has been selected to deliver the invocation and Rev. Louie Giglio has been selected to deliver the benediction at the Inaugural swearing-in ceremony of President Obama and Vice President Biden on Monday, January 21.

President Obama was involved in the selection of participants in the Inaugural program, including Mrs. Myrlie Evers-Williams and Rev. Louie Giglio.

“Vice President Biden and I are honored that Myrlie Evers-Williams and Rev. Louie Giglio will participate in the Inaugural ceremony,” President Obama said today. “Their voices have inspired many people across this great nation within the faith community and beyond. Their careers reflect the ideals that the Vice President and I continue to pursue for all Americans – justice, equality, and opportunity.”

“I am humbled to have been asked to deliver the invocation for the 57th inauguration of the President of the United States—especially in light of this historical time in America when we will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement,” Myrlie Evers-Williams said today. “It is indeed an exhilarating experience to have the distinct honor of representing that era.”

“It is my privilege to have the opportunity to lead our nation in prayer at the upcoming inauguration in Washington, DC,” said Rev. Louie Giglio. “During these days it is essential for our nation to stand together as one. And, as always, it is the right time to humble ourselves before our Maker. May we all look up to our God, from whom we can receive mercy, grace and truth to strengthen our lives, our families and our nation. I am honored to be invited by the President to lead our nation as we look up to God, and as we look ahead to a future that honors and reflects the One who has given us every good and perfect gift.”

Historically, Inaugural Ceremonies are not held on a Sunday because Courts and other public institutions are not open. This year, in accordance with the requirements of the United States Constitution, President Obama and Vice President Biden will officially be sworn in on Sunday, January 20, 2013. The following day, Monday, January 21, 2013, a ceremonial swearing-in that is open to the public will take place on the West Front of the United States Capitol.

The official swearing-in ceremony on Sunday is being planned by the PIC. The ceremonial swearing-in on Monday is overseen by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Myrlie Evers-Williams Biography
Myrlie Evers-Williams served as the chair of the NAACP from 1995 to 1998. The widow of Medgar Evers – the NAACP’s Mississippi Field Secretary who in 1963 was gunned down in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi – she fought for 30 years to bring his assassin to justice, and preserves his legacy through the Medgar Evers Institute. An author of three books about their civil rights’ work, she currently serves as a distinguished scholar at Alcorn University in Lorman, Mississippi. Evers-Williams became the first black woman to head the Southern California Democratic Women’s Division. She has received 16 honorary degrees from leading colleges and universities in addition to numerous civil rights, human rights and community awards.

Reverend Louie Giglio Biography
The Reverend Louie Giglio is the pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and the founder of Passion Conferences, a movement gathering college-aged young people since 1997 in events across the country and around the world. Most recently, Passion hosted more than 60,000 people at Passion 2013 in the Georgia Dome, uniting students in worship and prayer and raising awareness about modern-day slavery, human trafficking. In 2008, Louie and his wife Shelley led the team that planted Passion City Church, a local community of faith with the spirit of the Passion movement. Their desire is to inspire this generation to live for what matters most.

"Sad Birthday Obama" Not So Sad. Really.

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Screencap from NY Daily News. Pete Souza/White House

For the 49th birthday of the President of the United States, you’d think it was the saddest day ever if you were the New York Daily News.

The Gotham tabloid started this piece about the President’s special day in true fashion: “It’s your party, Mr. President. You can cry if you want to.” It doesn’t hurt to run a file photo of the President staring at a plate of cupcakes like it was a handful of oil.

Back to the plate at hand: the photo (left) shares a strange similarity to when Helen Thomas celebrated her 89th birthday and received a plate of cupcakes from the President (and he’s smiling too!)

In fact, the photo is from last year while Obama “watches the flame on the candle as he walks to the Brady Briefing Room to present cupcakes to Hearst White House columnist Helen Thomas in honor of her birthday, Aug. 4, 2009.”

So if you thought the President was sad due to A-Rod’s 600th hit or his birth date still being debated, don’t fret. Even if he didn’t get to eat his cake from the AFL-CIO according to  Yahoo, we’re sure he’ll enjoy Wendy Williams’ Gift Bag and a birthday tweet (via Savannah Gutherie) from Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.