![]() ![]() Shortening the tenures of chief ushers is about a tradition slowly fading away, but also about management. But there’s also a regrettable loss of institutional knowledge with the departure of someone like Reid. The relationship between the first family and the chief usher is so crucial that it might explain why the insular Trumps – who place a premium on personal loyalty – like the Obamas, hired someone who did not serve the previous President and his family. That is what the Obamas did when they replaced Rochon with Angella Reid. Trump to hire a chief usher whom she knows and trusts. Reflecting on her time at the White House, former first lady Michelle Obama told talk show host James Corden, “You really don’t know what you don’t know until you’re here,” and that she would miss the residence staff most.Īfter the 2016 election, she hosted the traditional meeting with incoming first lady Melania Trump, and it wouldn’t be surprising if, at that time, she advised Mrs. “You never knew from one minute to the next what the circumstances were going to be,” he said. Bush’s presidency to go to a University of Maryland basketball game, he had to turn around before he got to the end of Pennsylvania Avenue when he got word that the United States was going to start bombing in Kuwait. One night, as he was pulling out of the White House driveway during George H.W. “This is certainly not a 9 to 5 job,” Walters told me when I was researching a book on the history of the residence staff. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump arrive at the White House on Sunday, Jin Washington, D.C. She loved Chief Usher Rex Scouten, who served from 1969 to 1986, so much that she named her beloved Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Rex, after Scouten. West that when he died, in 1983, she asked Nancy Reagan if an exception could be made that would allow him to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, even though it is reserved for service members and their families. Jackie Kennedy was so close to Chief Usher J.B. Crim from 1938 until 1957, and more recently Gary Walters served from 1986 to 2007, working for the Reagans, the Clintons and both Bush families. Traditionally, chief ushers stayed in the position for decades, regardless of political party: Irwin “Ike” Hoover served from 1909 to 1933 Howell G. The chief usher supervises a staff of around 90, oversees the president’s personal and official events, and makes sure public White House tours run smoothly.Ībout a half-dozen ushers are in charge of the different “shops” in the White House, including food and beverage, and housekeeping, and report to the chief usher who has an office on the White House’s State Floor. The 132-room executive mansion is a massive operation requiring a seasoned manager who runs the show. The chief usher’s job is to make day-to-day White House life look effortless – they’re part ringmaster, part palace guard, part consigliere. Usher: Job gives me sense of awe (January 2017) ![]()
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