White House Chief Usher

The White House Chief Usher is the head of household staff and operations at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States.

The Chief Usher is, by description, charged with the responsibility "for the effective operation of the White House Complex and Executive Residence, site of Official and Ceremonial activities of the Presidency, and a museum of our American history ... [Chief Usher] develops and administers the budget for the operation, maintenance, and utilities and supervises the Executive Residence staff." In carrying out this charge, the Chief Usher must coordinate Executive Residence actions with a host of organizations including the Executive Office of the President, the National Park Service, the Secret Service, the General Services Administration, the military, and other government entities. The Chief Usher serves at the pleasure of the president and coordinates both official and family life at the White House.

For operations involving official ceremonies, such as the State Arrival Ceremony or State Dinner at the White House, the Chief Usher coordinates activities with the White House Social Secretary in the East Wing, and the Chief of Protocol of the United States, an official within the United States Department of State.

In coordinating the historic preservation of the White House, the Chief Usher works with the White House Office of the Curator, the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, and the White House Historical Association.

The office for the Chief Usher is located on the State Floor, near to the Cross Hall and Entrance Hall beside the entrance to the North Portico. An 1815 floor plan for the White House labels this room as the Ushers Lodge.

The longest serving White House Chief Usher was Irwin "Ike" H. Hoover, who served as Chief Usher for about 25 years of his 42 years in the White House. Gary J. Walters resigned as Chief Usher in January 2007 after serving in the position from 1986 when appointed by President Ronald Reagan. The current and ninth Chief Usher is Angella Reid, a former general manager of the Ritz-Carlton at Pentagon City, Virginia.

List of Chief Ushers

References

Further reading

• Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.
• Seale, William. The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 0-912308-28-1.
• West, J.B. with Mary Lynn Kotz. Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan: 1973. SBN 698-10546-X.
• The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.

External links

• White House Historical Association website
• Records of the White House Usher (1953-1961), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• C-SPAN Q&A interview with Gary Walters, January 21, 2007

v t e White House Complex White House Executive Residence Basement Basement Chief Floral Designer Ground floor China Room Office of the Curator Diplomatic Reception Room Library Map Room Vermeil Room State floor Blue Room Cross Hall East Room Entrance Hall Family Dining Room Grand Staircase Green Room Red Room South Portico State Dining Room Chief Usher Second floor Center Hall Dressing Room East Bedroom East Sitting Hall Family Kitchen Lincoln Bedroom Lincoln Sitting Room President's Bedroom President's Dining Room Private Sitting Room Queens' Bedroom Queens' Sitting Room Treaty Room Truman Balcony West Bedroom West Sitting Hall Yellow Oval Room Third floor Center Hall Diet Kitchen Linen Room Music Room Sun Room Work-out Room West Wing Cabinet Room Executive Office Oval Office Press Briefing Room Roosevelt Room Situation Room East Wing Office of the First Lady Graphics and Calligraphy Office Presidential Emergency Operations Center Social Secretary Grounds The Ellipse Jacqueline Kennedy Garden Lafayette Square North Lawn President's Park Rose Garden South Lawn Annex Eisenhower Executive Office Building New Executive Office Building White House Conference Center Blair House Trowbridge House Presidential Townhouse Streets 15th Street 17th Street Constitution Avenue E Street East Executive Avenue H Street NW Hamilton Place Jackson Place Madison Place Pennsylvania Avenue State Place West Executive Avenue