White House Correspondents Insider

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

Veteran Diplomat Martin Indyk’s New Book On Kissinger

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Secretary John Kerry with Gahl Burt and author Ambassador Martin Indyk at Cafe Milano book Party

On November 17th,  Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba and Franco Nuschese hosted a book party for Martin Indyk’s newest work, Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy at Cafe Milano in Washington, DC.  

Attendees included diplomatic heavy hitters like John Kerry and Ambassador Al Otaiba, who paid tribute to Indyk with a kind speech. Indyk then spoke, entertaining the crowd with an amusing story about Henry Kissinger and issuing many thanks. 

 

NYT columnist Tom Friedman and Amb. Yousef Al Otaiba at the celebration at Cafe Milano

Newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, Israeli Ambassador Mike Herzog, Sally Quinn, and former Congresswoman Jane Harman were also present for the celebration, as well as media figures Wolf Blitzer, Norah O’Donnell, and Kaitlan Collins. Other notable guests included Tom Friedman from The New York Times, Roxanne Roberts from The Washington Post, and Jeff Goldberg from The Atlantic.

U. S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides with Tammy Wittes and friend

 

Cafe Milano owner Franco Nuschese and CNN’s Kaitlan Collins

Martin Indyk served twice as U.S. Ambassador to Israel from 1995-1997 and 2000-2001. He was President Clinton’s Middle East adviser on the National Security Council, and in Clinton’s second term he became the assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs. Master of the Game is Indyk’s third book, and first solo publication in a few years. 

NYT Haberman Says Trump Will Contact Reporters Directly in Post-Hope Hicks White House

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Maggie Haberman in front of Air Force One, Photo Courtesy Vanity Fair

Donald Trump stunned reporters in the White House briefing room on Thursday, March 8th with a surprise appearance, his first ever in front of the correspondents who usually grill Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The brief appearance acted as a teaser for his planned meeting with Kim Jong Un. President Trump is reportedly angry at Sanders for her comments about his legal case with the porn star Stormy Daniels.

Washington’s favorite White House columnist, New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, says that this move is indicative of a post-Hope Hicks White House and for Trump’s interactions with the press a sign of things to come.

Donna Shalala, Favorite of Both Parties, Running for Congress

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Donna Shalala and Sally Quinn at the Alfalfa Club afterparty at Cafe Milano, Photo Courtesy Haddad Media

Donna Shalala, the former President of the University of Miami and Health and Human Services secretary under Bill Clinton, has announced her plans to run for Congress in Florida’s 27th district. The news comes nearly one year after incumbent Ileana Ros-Lehtinen announced her plans to retire from Congress.

Despite being a longtime Clinton ally, serving as head of the Clinton Foundation after a 14-year stint as University of Miami’s President,Shalala has a storied history of bipartisanship in Washington, working for both Democrats and Republicans over the course of her career. In 2007, she was handpicked by George W. Bush to run the Commission on Care for Returning Wounded Warriors along with Senator Bob Dole. In 2008, President Bush awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Before joining the Bush administration, Shalala was appointed HHS Secretary by President Bill Clinton, staying in the position for 8 years, the longest tenure for an HHS Secretary in history.

Shalala released a video explaining why she’s throwing her hat in the ring saying, “Everything we fought for in our lives is under attack under the slogan, ‘Make America Great Again’,” and adding, “Running for Congress was never in my plans. But now I realize everything we fought for is at risk.”

The district, which encompasses the greater part of Miami and Coral Gables, is relatively Dem-friendly, going for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by nearly 20 points during the 2016 presidential election.

Shalala was in Washington for the annual Alfalfa Club Dinner shaking hands and greeting old friends including Sally Quinn. Here’s an interview with Shalailah and the Miami Herald after news of the announcement broke.

 

Dan Meyers Joins APCO Worldwide as Senior Director

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Former George W. Bush White House press representative Dan Meyers has joined public affairs consulting firm APCO Worldwide as senior director and head of advocacy. In addition to his White House credentials, he was special assistant to the political director of the Republican National Committee, and a worked as an aide for Rudy Giuliani during his 2008 presidential bid.

Prior to joining APCO, Meyers spent nearly a decade with public affairs firm DCI Group, leaving the organization as Vice President.

Dan Meyers, in a statement, said of APCO, “In an increasingly divided Washington, APCO has a proven track record of finding ways to create political movements to shape and influence policy. The firm has an established history of working on some of the largest and highest profile issue campaigns in the history of the city. I look forward to continuing that with APCO’s dynamic team and ultimately helping clients achieve their goals.”

Read the release here: http://apcoworldwide.com/news/detail/2018/01/10/apco-bolsters-its-advocacy-and-public-affairs-expertise-in-washington-with-new-hire

High School Author Brings Hope With Her Words

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The works of Alexis Doyle, a senior at St. Andrew's Episcopal School

The works of Alexis Doyle, a senior at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland

Alexis Doyle hasn’t graduated from St. Andrew’s Episcopol School, yet she’s already able to confidentanly state she’s a published author. A three-time published author and her latest with a forward from the internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon, Dr. Benjamin Carson,Jr. who performed surgery on her when she was just 3 months old.

That’s no small feat for any author, especially one that’s still handling school work and grades. As The Sentinel reported Alexis wrote her first book at the age of 13.

Alexis’ books are inspired by her own struggles, having been born with craniosynostosis, a condition that fuses cranial bones together at birth, and with differences in her hands and feet. Spanning five major surgeries over the next 17 years, Alexis has certainly experienced the challenge of overcoming major adversity.

“I have found that one of the best ways I have been able to overcome my challenges is to help others overcome theirs,” she said. “That is why I decided at a very young age to author books for kids to help them deal with their own challenges and to let them know they are not alone. I have published my third book in the series that I hope to continue throughout my life.”

Author Alexis Doyle

photo: Alexis Doyle.

The books (“Jesse and His New Baby Sister,” “Ethan the Big Brother” and the most recent, “Alexis And Her Hospital Friends”) illustrate the challenges dealt with by, not only Alexis’ family, but also the families of 2 close friends. They show in a very simple format, easily understood by young children, how the families overcame their challenges and, further, they provide reassurance for other children who struggle with any condition or difficult life situation. In the forward to her newest book, her neurosurgeon, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Sr. provided:

“In this book, Alexis Doyle who has had many experiences as a patient during her early years of life, uses those experiences to help children see that the people working at the hospital are their friends and are there to make their lives better. She also helps children use their imagination. I hope this book finds its way into the children’s library of every hospital and into the offices of many pediatricians.”

Alexis Doyle’s books can be purchased at Lexy’s Books on Facebook.

Washington Humanitarians Gather to Honor Caryl Stern and to Believe in Zero

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Last Tuesday was an unintentionally powerful day for those that stand with humanity and empowering the children who rarely get a voice. While most of the country watched a shocked Jon Stewart on the Daily Show as he spoke with Malala Yousafzai, earlier that night Washington gathered around the Jefferson hotel to hear from UNICEF President Caryl Stern about her latest book, “I Believe in Zero*.”

Featuring Melanne Verveer, the nation’s first global ambassador for women, and with former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, a leader in the global effort to prevent deaths in garment factories as Independent Board Chairman of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, Stern focused on a key point behind the philosophy of UNICEF and her book: zero preventative child deaths.

“As a society, we can’t say that every child has value if we’re not willing to act accordingly ,” Stern wrote on Huffington Post back in September. “Over the last year, 176 governments, including the United States, have pledged to accelerate our progress on child survival. These countries have recognized that an investment in children is at the heart of every nation’s prosperity and sustainable development. Healthy children are more likely to live longer, stay in school and be productive members of their society, creating benefits that reverberate through future generations.”

Stern’s latest book is filled with stories from her travels around the world, especially as she looks at the struggles within third-world counries and how communities must pull themselves together along with their government to redefine and develop a global consciousness.

Senator John McCain Headlines Daily Beast Hero Summit

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Tina Brown kicks things off at the second annual Daily Beast Hero Summit with an interivew with the always interesting Senator John McCain. As politicians line up to claim they are outraged by the government shutdown’s affect on veteran services. Syria and the controveries in Congress will all be covered starting at 8:30 a.m. when Senator John McCain joins Tina Brown in a special session.

Afterwards the morning program continues with a look back at the 20th anniversary of the events behind Black Hawk Down with the producer of the 2001 film Jerry Bruckheimer. The day continues featuring speakers from Capitol Hill, the military and the premiere later tonight of Peter Berg‘s “Lone Survivor.”

You can watch the day’s panels live here:

Kevin Spacey Foundation A Highlight Over the Weekend

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Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey at the 2013 White House Correspondents Brunch

Before government shut down today, Washington at least had a good Saturday night with the arts. Specifically Kevin Spacey, the actor/producer beloved for his role by Beltway folks for “House of Cards,” who came to town for the initial gala for the Kevin Spacey Foundation.

Bloomberg Muse was there and made note of the room’s “twist of Lemmon,” a nod to Spacey’s mentor and honoree for the evening, the late Jack Lemmon.

“The room was decorated with posters from the films of Jack Lemmon, who inspired Spacey to help young people with his motto that if you do well in life ‘you should send the elevator back down.’ Spacey will travel the world for his Elevator Initiative, choosing and molding aspiring actors.”

Spacey also spoke to Mike Allen, providing the insight “I know that I wouldn’t have a career if it weren’t for a NUMBER of particular individuals through my life who took a chance on me, who believed in me, who said just the right thing to me at just the right moment — particularly when I was quite young — who gave me a job or an opportunity. ”

As Variety reported beforehand, Spacey took the stage that night to bring back his love for Bobby Darin among a crowd consisting of the stars from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner’s “House of Nerds” including Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Ed Henry and Spacey’s “House of Cards” co-star Michael Kelly.

Also in attendance were Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Andrea Mitchell–who took in a $10,000 tennis match with Spacey–Christine Taylor, Capitol File’s Elizabeth Thorp and Ron Klain.

White House Continues Trend of Referencing Mean Girls

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Once again, it seems like the White House made a Mean Girls reference.

The 2004 comedy staring Lindsay Lohan, who we’re aware is something of a Washington sparklie, is ripe for referencing inside the Beltway. In a tweet sent out by the official White House account, Bo is the culprit in this recent attempt to reference the lack of fetch ever happening. But who’s the real culprit?

Mean Girls has been a subtle staple inside the Obama media team since the 2012 re-election campaign. A gif here, a(n unofficial) quickmeme template there and a random Ann Coulter reference that makes us think she’s never seen the film. But Mean Girls is essential when dissecting Washington, especially in gif form. Could this be a sign of DoJ fighting the American Airlines/U.S. Airways merger? Proof of Cronut coming to D.C.? Or worse–nothing at all except a brief tweet on a Tuesday?

No word when the administration will start using The Canyons as a talking point.

Washington Sees Off Leslie Dach

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Leslie Dach Reception

When Tony Podesta sends an invitation, smart people always say yes. But an invite from Tony and Walmart’s Senior Director of Federal Government Ivan Zapien to fete the outgoing Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs Leslie Dach has all the smart people accepting.

Tosca’s front room was packed with Washington’s finest to take a moment away from big issues to celebrate a Big Man on the Washington Campus (Leslie, of course). After leading their Washington office for seven years, he’s leaving behind all the good works of the corporate affairs office to a new role as consultant to the company. Leslie with his wife Mary and their daughter hugged and chatted with friends as yummy hors d’oeuvres were passed around the early-evening crowd.

Guests included Sylvia Matthews, former director of OMB, who Leslie recruited to Walmart to run their philanthropy, Washington Super-Lawyer Bob Barnett, Martha’s Table CEO/President and Philanthropist Patty Stonesifer, Mary Tydings Smith and The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer. Other guests included Ron Brownstein and Eileen McMenamin, Amy Weiss and Peter Kadzik, Ann Walker Marchant, Melissa Moss and John Podesta.