Who is going to move into the White House? Ever wondered what moving day at the White House will be like? According to one expert, it’s a bit similar to a choreographed ballet.
Move-in can’t start until Inauguration Day
The president elect can’t move in a minute before Inauguration Day, which is January 20. “We have to operate virtually from an off-site location and organise all the logistics there,” said Bradley Blakeman in a recent interview with Elle Decor. Blakeman was former President George W. Bush’s deputy assistant, and helped organise his move into the White House. “It’s organised and they’ve got it done to a science. It’s like a military manoeuver.”
During the George W Bush administration, the family dining room was painted yellow, in honour of “The Yellow Rose of Texas”, that state’s official song. Photo: Whitehousemuseum.org
Everything is planned off-site
Since the sitting president moves out the same day the president-elect moves in, the moving process must be painstakingly planned away from the White House.
In a 2009 editorial, Slate.com reported that before Inauguration Day the president-elect’s belongings are moved to a secure White House storage facility. It’s the same space the White House uses to hold holiday decorations, antiques, and art not currently being displayed.
Barack and Michelle Obama retained the furniture from the George W Bush years, but opted for white walls and contemporary works by African American artists. Photo: Whitehousemuseum.org
The President-elect is responsible for moving his own belongings
Just because you were voted in doesn’t mean you get a break on moving expenses. The president-elect must arrange and pay for the transport of all his belongings and furniture. “[The incoming First Family] have to coordinate with the government and private movers,” says Blakeman.
The Secret Service oversees the process, which usually happens the week before the inauguration. It provides an escort for the moving vehicles and screens all items before they enter the secure storage facility. But President Obama had to cover the transportation costs to get his items from Chicago to Washington D.C., and Donald Trump will have to cover the costs from Trump Tower to the White House.
Once the president’s belongings have crossed the White House threshold, however, the tab is picked up by the government, who also covers move-out expenses of the current President. These funds come from an executive residence budget allocated by Congress.
In 1975, during the Gerald Ford years, the Center Hall looked like this. The ‘Chinese Screens’ on either side of the door were donated to the White House during Jacqueline Kennedy’s restoration project. Photo: Whitehousemuseum.org
It’s a pretty busy day
The Inauguration Day move-in starts when the sitting President and the First Lady have a traditional morning tea with the President-elect and his wife before heading over to Capitol Hill for the swearing-in.
Once they leave, the 93-person staff shifts into high gear. For security and privacy purposes, no outside help is hired, so the White House operations personnel and housekeeping department handles the move.
A chief usher coordinates the process, giving the White House staff floor plans and photos that show where each items goes (these are logistical issues the president-elect discusses with the chief usher beforehand), according to Slate.com.
The operations personnel does the heavy lifting while a housekeeping detail helps prepare the bedrooms, curators make sure the furnishings and décor are just so, florists worry about bouquet arrangements, and the chefs prepare the post-Inauguration dinner.
At the same time, the staff is also moving the ex-president out. Items get loaded into boxes, which get loaded into vans and then military cargo planes that carry everything to the former president’s new residence.
Former White House usher Gary Walters, who worked on five Presidential move-ins during his long career, told ABC News in a recent interview that the move is, “very well-organized, ballet-like choreography.” He added that the division of labour is precise and the schedule so fine-tuned that there’s even someone assigned to remove empty boxes when they’re unpacked and two people whose only duty is to operate the elevators.
After defeating Gerald Ford in 1976, Democrat Jimmy Carter moved the ‘Chinese Screens’ into storage. When he was elected in 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan moved them back in. Photo: Whitehousemuseum.org
There’s only six hours to get the private rooms into move-in condition
If you think home makeovers on TV are done quickly, then you’ll be blown away the speed and efficiency of the White House turnover. The moving trucks cannot pull onto the White House grounds until the sitting president and president-elect drive off the property to head to the swearing-in ceremony at around 11 a.m. on Inauguration Day
Bradley Blakeman says that in the span of about six hours, the private residence rooms on the second level of the White House will be stripped of whatever belonged to the Obama family. Where necessary, they will be repainted, and the Trumps’ belongings and furniture will be installed.
This was how the White House master bedroom looked during the Reagan administration. Photo: Whitehousemuseum.org
The plan involves an organisation of labour so precise that no job overlaps and no time is wasted. Staff is divided into who is carrying furniture in, who is carrying it out, who unpacks the incoming boxes and puts things away, and who takes the already-packed boxes out. Gary Walters said there are specific teams assigned to each of two elevators because otherwise things could get backed up.
The President spends all day at the Inauguration
“During the move-in process, the First Family is at the Inauguration or watching the parade,” says Blakeman. “By the time the parade is over, they have the Inaugural Balls, so they’re out of the residence for a long time, allowing all of this work to take place.”
Personal decor choices will take place after move-in day, but Gary Walters says,”The concept is when the new First Family walks in, they walk into their new home. Their clothes are in the closets, their favourite foods are in the pantry, the furniture that they have designated to be in certain locations is there.”
When the Kennedys moved into the White House in 1960, the Center Hall was painted blue. Photo: Whitehousemuseum.org
The photo gallery is updated
Just outside the Cabinet Room there is a rotating photograph gallery of the president, including photos of him meeting with world leaders and allies. On move-in day, those photographs are swapped out for new ones of the new president at the Inauguration ceremonies.
Choosing a new chef
During the first week after move-in, the president can reassign who will be cooking for the first family. The current executive chef is Cristeta Comerford, who was appointed in 2005 by then-First Lady Laura Bush.
In retaining Comerford, who is the first woman to hold the head chef position, Michelle Obama stated, “She is the mom of a young daughter, and I appreciate our shared perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families.”
As chef to a head of state, Comerford is a member of Le Club des Chefs des Chefs – an international club that annually brings together the chefs of heads of state to meet and discuss their work.
The Center Hall of the White House after Jacqueline Kennedy and interior designer Sister Parish redecorated. Photo: Whitehousemuseum.org
There’s a new car, too
The new president is outfitted with a top-of-the-line vehicle with cutting edge security features (most known only to the Secret Service). Also, if it hasn’t been covered before move-in day, the president elect will be brought up to speed on things such as the White House’s top-secret emergency apparatus that was put into place after 9/11.
Planning a funeral
It may sound shocking, but during the first week of move-in into the White House, the president is asked to plan his funeral should anything occur during the presidency.