White House residential staff seen with President Clinton and family.
It won’t be long before the president vacates the place he’s called home for 8 years and the new, presidential elect, moves in. But how does that happen exactly? It’s actually really impressive.
A few days before move in day (Inauguration Day, Jan 20th, 2017) the entering president has regular old movers gather up his or her belongings and transport the to a storage facility in Maryland. Everything. Furniture, clothes, what have you. It’s all overseen by secret security. From there it’s handled by White House staff.
Starting Jan 20th at 10:30am, when the exiting and entering presidents sit down for tea elsewhere in the White House, 93 residential staffers kick into high gear. They begin by packing up all the clothes and furniture of the current president and get it ready for transport. Another group will start removing decor, curtains, paintings, anything not permanent that was chosen by the first family. Immediately after the staff redecorates in the design chosen previously by the entering president and their spouse. All the families clothing is put away and photos are displayed. All in an effort to make the new family feel welcome and at home. And all in 6 hours.
Presidents come and go, but the service staff remains the same. After four or eight years, staff grow close to the first family, and tears are invariably shed when there’s a change in administration. When a new family comes in, a new vibe comes with them. Chefs must learn new palates, florists learn new tastes, and there’s a long stretch during which the incoming family must learn to adapt to a suddenly robust staff eager to attend to their every need.