The White House was briefly evacuated on the evening of 2 July following the discovery of a suspicious powder, which has now been confirmed as cocaine. The substance was found by security staff in a storage cubby in the West Wing of the executive mansion, in an area where guests and employees usually leave their phones before embarking on White House tours, reports CNN. The Secret Service is now conducting an investigation into how the Class A drug found its way into the heart of one of the most guarded buildings in the world. Click or scroll on for more...
On 5 July, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed the drug was found in a busy, high-traffic area. “It is where visitors to the West Wing come through... I’m not going to speculate on who it was", she said. CNN reported that according to sources, the substance was referred to as a white powder in a zipped "dime-sized bag". Federal law enforcement officials who spoke with the publication said that DNA testing and fingerprint analysis are being carried out on the bag, while visitor logs and surveillance are being scrutinised to help determine who brought the drug into the White House. Jean-Pierre has also suggested that staff could be subjected to drug testing as part of the White House's "rigorous guidelines".
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden weren't in residence at the executive mansion at the time of the discovery. They were away at Camp David in Maryland where they spent Independence Day weekend with family members, including their son Hunter, who was recently charged with federal tax and weapons offences. Hunter Biden is pictured here holding his son Beau alongside his wife, Melissa Cohen, as they travelled back to Washington, DC after the family getaway. President Biden returned to the White House on Tuesday morning for the Fourth of July fireworks.
Unsurprisingly, former president Donald Trump was one of the first to respond to news of the investigation. Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump launched into a baseless tirade against the first family: "Does anybody really believe that the COCAINE found in the West Wing of the White House, very close to the Oval Office, is for the use of anyone other than Hunter & Joe Biden." In what some would say is an incredibly unwise move, he also turned his attention to Jack Smith, the Special Prosecutor appointed by the Justice Department to oversee the cases against him. Trump wrote: “Has Deranged Jack Smith, the crazy, Trump hating Special Prosecutor, been seen in the area of the COCAINE? He looks like a crackhead to me!”
Read on to discover more White House secrets of the Biden administration
Ever wondered what really goes on within the confines of the nation's executive mansion? From million-dollar renovations and staff selection to the POTUS' daily routine and surprising working style, not to mention what Trump left behind and what President Biden thought of it, we spill the beans on President Biden's White House. Click or scroll on to uncover the secrets of the commander-in-chief's estate...
It turns out that President Biden's early days at the White House were plagued with discomfort. Revealed in Peril, a book by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, details have emerged of the president's first days in his new digs. The book claims that due to the lack of social events because of coronavirus, Biden was left feeling lonely and isolated, with Biden instead preferring to spend time with his grandchildren in Delaware. He also likened his new home to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and nicknamed it 'the tomb'.
In his early days as president, Biden was also troubled with remnants of his predecessor, leaving him in an unpleasant mood. The book claims that Trump spent his days in the White House surrounded by 'toys', including a giant video screen where he virtually played golf. It was reportedly installed in 2019 at a cost of $50,000 (£39k). When the POTUS saw Trump's 'toys' he reportedly exclaimed 'what a f****** a*******!'.
In June 2021, the President hosted former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in an Oval Office meeting. Johnson was there to speak with Biden about Northern Ireland, climate change and Afghanistan, as well as discussing the issue of a free trade deal "a little bit" during the 90-minute meeting. However, Johnson took questions from two UK reporters during the meeting, something that he hadn't warned Biden he would do, leaving him to ignore questions from the press. The White House reportedly was forced to deny that the POTUS felt upstaged amongst the chaotic scenes.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last year that President Trump would be “fumigated out” if he refused to leave the White House post-election. And while it thankfully didn't come to that, the incoming administration spent a reported $127,000 (£100k) on a scrupulous deep clean of the executive mansion, which hosted a COVID superspreader event in September 2020 and was hit by a serious outbreak in the fall and winter.
Not taking any chances, the new administration went all out in January, making sure every single one of the 132 rooms and 55,000 square feet of floor space that make up the presidential residence and workplace were 100% COVID-free, with an additional $44,000 (£35k) dropped on deep cleaning all the carpets in the building.
In readiness for President Biden's first real day at work, the White House's Oval Office was given a revamp more in keeping with the 46th POTUS' personal taste. Out went Trump's glitzy sunburst rug and in came a deep blue carpet that graced the room in the Clinton years. The incoming president did however opt to keep much of the Trump décor including the Resolute Desk, Clinton yellow drapes, brocade wallpaper, and Bush-era cream-hued sofas.
Famously ditched by President Obama, the Winston Churchill bust by Jacob Epstein was restored to the Oval Office by President Trump, but the new leader of the free world once again jettisoned the sculpture of the wartime British prime minister, replacing it with a bust of labour activist Cesar Chavez.
Several icons of the civil rights movement are honoured in the Biden Oval Office, which now features a bust of Rosa Parks, complementing the sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr by Charles Alston that has been on display in the room since the Obama years. Another depicts Eleanor Roosevelt, the much-loved first lady who was an early champion of equal rights for African Americans and other marginalised groups.
Former President Trump is a big fan of populist president Andrew Jackson, a slave-owner who pursued a policy of forcibly removing Native Americans from their ancestral lands, which resulted in thousands of deaths. Needless to say, the incoming POTUS didn't waste any time putting the Jackson portrait and statue Trump had adorned the office with into storage. In their place are a painting of Benjamin Franklin and a sculpture by Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser.
Portraits of arch-rivals Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson are paired to symbolise “how differences of opinion... are essential to democracy.” Other new additions include a bust of President JFK, a dreamy painting by impressionist artist Childe Hassam, and a lunar rock collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972.
On chilly days, the president likes to have a fire built in the Oval Office hearth to create a cosy vibe in his office, and on occasion enjoys throwing on a log himself to stoke up the flames. Among his predecessors, Richard Nixon was such a big fan of log fires, he'd have them blazing in the summer with the AC humming. All in all, there are 35 working fireplaces in the White House, which are meticulously maintained by a team of chimney sweeps.
The first family's private quarters consist of a number of rooms on the second floor including the president's private sitting room, dining room and bedroom, and just two other bedrooms, the Queens' Bedroom and the Lincoln Bedroom. The Bidens' makeover of this space has been kept under wraps, but given their taste, which is far less flashy than the Trump's as you can see from this pic of Jill Biden at home in Delaware, the décor is likely to be homely and down to earth.
Jill Biden oversaw an extensive renovation of the East Wing, which houses the offices of the first lady and her staff. According to TMZ, the upgrade of the restrooms alone was projected to cost $1.2 million (£941k), though there won't be any sign of President Trump's favoured gold-plated toilets no doubt. Shown here is a photo of a West Wing bathroom to give you an idea as to how the décor might look.
Melania Trump fronted an anti-cyberbullying drive but generally kept a low profile as first lady. In contrast, Jill Biden is taking a more active role, which could partly explain the East Wing refurb, as she gets involved in everything from the Olympics to campaigning for military families and supporting cancer research, on top of working as an educator. In fact, as the first FLOTUS to hold a paid job outside the White House, Jill Biden is reshaping the role.
Critics lambasted Melania Trump's “evisceration” last year of the Jackie Kennedy-designed Rose Garden. The changes the ex-FLOTUS made, which included replacing colourful blooms with muted flowers and removing several cherry and crab apple trees, were widely derided. Since then, a Change.org petition calling for Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to restore the garden to its former glory has attracted more than 80,000 signatures.
Still, the first lady says she enjoys walking past the roses with her dogs in the morning, not that the challenge of overhauling the Rose Garden would be tough for her. Quite the keen gardener, the FLOTUS, seen here planting a linden tree for Arbor Day, has created a little floral cutting garden in the White House grounds. "If I go to visit somebody, I can make them a bouquet,” she told Vogue for her August issue cover story.
Staying with security issues, the White House Secret Service detail was shaken up to get rid of agents seen as loyal to the former president and bring in senior staff the new POTUS had worked with during his veep days. Rumour has it the problematic agents had been reportedly urging their colleagues not to wear face masks during the pandemic.
An early riser, the president leaps out of bed and makes a beeline for the gym. The White House workout room is located on the third floor of the presidential property. Formerly an elegant sitting room and 'blue toile' guestroom, it was converted into a gym by the Clintons. Michelle Obama is shown here working out in the space.
Without fail, President Biden works out five days a week and doesn't slack off when it comes to breaking out in a sweat, opting for high-intensity sessions that combine cardio with resistance training. The leader of the free world complements his gym workouts with golf, an interest he shares with Presidents Trump and Obama, as well as weekend bike rides with his wife.
Recently, the president revealed one of his daily workout schedules, and it isn't for the faint-hearted. Starting with five minutes on the rowing machine and 30 minutes on the exercise bike, the session moves on to two sets of 23 bicep curls lifting a hefty 45 pounds or more, crunches, tricep pull-down cables, hammer curls, tricep skull crushers and 23 jumping jacks.
Joe Biden raised eyebrows after a report emerged in 2014 that he had a habit of swimming naked in the pools at the veep's residence and his Delaware home in full view of female Secret Service agents, some of whom were said to have been offended. The White House has a swimming pool in use on the South Lawn and an indoor one that is covered, though it's unlikely the POTUS will continue to skinny dip.
In fact, the president appears to be far more modest around his Secret Service detail these days. Breaking with protocol, he asks agents to keep out of his room at breakfast time because he isn't dressed properly, preferring to relax in his robe and enjoy some private time with his wife away from prying eyes.
After breakfast, which could be a protein shake or even a hearty lumberjack breakfast depending on the day, the president often walks the first pets. Sadly German shepherd Champ died in June 2021, but previously he'd walk the pets before making his way over to the West Wing and into the Oval Office, arriving sometime around nine o'clock in the morning and always carrying his trusty brown leather briefcase. By December 2021 they had a new puppy named Commander, who was a birthday gift to the President from his brother James Biden and sister-in-law Sara Biden according to CNN.
President Biden is maintaining an age-old tradition by having his dogs live in the White House – the last POTUS was the first in over 100 years not to have a pet – but Champ and Major's move to the executive mansion hasn't been without its problems. Major, a rescue pooch, found it the hardest to adjust and has bitten two staff members. The three-year-old is now reportedly living in a "quieter environment" with Biden family friends in Delaware.
In January 2022, Jill Biden took to Facebook to share a series of adorable snaps to welcome the White House feline, a grey tabby named Willow. She will join the Bidens' German shepherd puppy, Commander, in the executive mansion. The BBC reported that Jill Biden met Willow when she joined her onstage at an event in Pennsylvania during the 2020 electoral campaign. "Seeing their immediate bond, the owner of the farm knew that Willow belonged with Dr Biden," Mr LaRosa, Jill Biden's spokesman said.
Once happily ensconced in the West Wing, President Biden can rest assured he has built the most diverse administration in history. As well as choosing the first African American and South Asian woman to serve as his veep, Biden has a record number of minority cabinet appointees, and 58% of his White House staff and 44% of the senior positions are made up of women, the highest level for any US government.
The president hasn't held back when it comes to hiring staff. According to a Forbes analysis from July 2021, the payroll for the workforce of 567 could top $200 million (£157m) over four years, well above the bill for the previous two administrations. In July, there were 190 more employees than at the same juncture in the presidency under President Trump, and 80 more than under President Obama.
Despite the bulging payroll, the White House had never been quieter at the start of Biden's presidency due to the pandemic and the legions of employees working remotely. Attendees at an event held there in March 2021 reportedly said the West Wing was “ghostly quiet”, significantly less busy than they would have expected it to be, and that the atmosphere was reminiscent of a snow day.
Members of the previous administration are said to have frequently flouted COVID precautions, eschewing masks, holding meetings indoors, and not sticking to social distancing guidelines, including President Trump. The current government is nowhere near as lax, with rules, including the use of masks, strongly adhered to at the height of the pandemic. Even water glasses were sealed with paper covers stamped with the presidential seal to help protect staff and guests.
The list of White House staff may be never-ending, but interns, who have long been a common sight in the West Wing and elsewhere, were nowhere to be seen in 2021, unlike during the Trump administration when the corridors were teeming with them. The case of the missing interns can of course be explained initially by the pandemic, which precipitated a hiring freeze.
A New York Times article published in May 2021 revealed via reliable sources that the new commander-in-chief is obsessed with details and has something of a quick temper lurking behind his sunny demeanor, but “never erupts into fits of rage” like President Trump. This short fuse can be put down to Biden's lack of patience and eagerness to get things done.
A hardcore TV addict, President Trump watched hours of cable news a day, at one time staying glued to the screen for seven hours each morning, meaning he didn't arrive at the Oval Office until noon. Biden is no such TV fan and though the screens President Trump installed in the Oval Office Dining Room and Roosevelt Room are still there, they're hardly ever on during the day, bar for virtual meetings.
A humble small-town boy at heart, President Biden isn't big on pomp and circumstance. Unlike his predecessor, he has bemoaned the lack of privacy in the White House, calling it a “gilded cage”, and is uneasy with staff waiting on him hand and foot, commenting that it makes him feel “self-conscious”.
The president has retained many key hospitality staff, however, including Cristeta Comerford, who has been White House Head Chef since 2005. While he was no stranger to grabbing lunch on the go on the campaign trail in 2020 (pictured here), according to The New York Times, Biden now takes a 30-minute lunch break and the kitchen prepares him a rotation of salad, soup and sandwiches. He usually dines with Vice President Harris once a week.
But these are no ordinary lunches. According to the Washington Post, "Once a week, Biden eats lunch with Harris, following a pattern he established when he was vice president to Barack Obama. The White House photo office pulls together a slideshow of images from their recent travel and events that the two watch on a monitor as they eat, allowing them to reflect on their week." We'd love to be a fly on the wall!
As one former aide put it, the POTUS has the food tastes of a young child. Like the former president, he has a penchant for fast food, but prefers Dairy Queen and Whataburger over McDonald's, and enjoys tucking into pasta with red sauce for dinner, while his wife will dine on healthier grilled chicken or fish. The new leader of the free world has a major sweet tooth too.
Given the president doesn't drink or smoke, his number one vice is ice cream, which he adores, particularly vanilla chocolate chip Häagen-Dazs and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream – the Biden campaign is said to have spent $10,000 (£7.8k) on supplies of the latter iced dessert. The POTUS' drink of choice is orange Gatorade but he's partial to Coke Zero as well, while the first lady is said to be fond of a glass of wine or two, with a caterer who worked for the couple describing her as a connoisseur of vino: “an oenophile to the first degree.”
Other favourites include the FLOTUS' chicken parm, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies and copious amounts of candy. Be that as it may, unlike his predecessor the president doesn't dodge the salads and other healthy fare, but staff have reportedly been instructed not to serve leafy greens at events in case he gets any stuck in his teeth.
Author Michael Wolff wrote in his bombshell book on President Trump's last days in office that the outgoing POTUS never ventured upstairs to the second floor and had never taken the stairs. President Biden however climbs the staircase that leads to the private quarters each evening after he's finished work for the day.
Instead of spending his evenings fixated on cable news like President Trump, Biden devotes much of his downtime to other activities, one of which is reading letters from ordinary Americans. He also makes a point of calling his son Hunter and speaking with his grandchildren who keep him up to date with pop culture and the latest tech.
Whereas Presidents Trump and Obama were night owls – Trump would stay up into the early hours watching TV, while Obama had a habit of reading briefing papers well past midnight – President Biden wakes up at the crack of dawn and prefers to retire early, hitting the sack not long after dinner and decompression time.
Even more so than President Trump, Biden likes to spend his weekends away from the executive mansion, which he sees as more of a “Monday to Friday kind of place”. During his first 29 weekends in office, the commander-in-chief had 14 weekends away at Camp David and eight in Maryland, more than any other president at this point in their administration.
President Joe Biden is clearly a fan of his home comforts. According to CNN, recent reports by Mark Knoller, the unofficial statistician of the White House press corps, found that the POTUS has spent more than 25% of his presidency in his hometown in Delaware. These figures surpass even those of Donald Trump, who was criticised for his regular departures from the White House.
Work-from-home lover Joe Biden built this three-bed, four-and-a-half-bath house in the late 1990s. Estimated to be worth $2 million (£1.6m) according to the Wall Street Journal, the plot was originally purchased by the Bidens in 1996 for $350,000 (£275k). Spanning 6,850-square-foot, you’ll find the property in Greenville, Delaware, an upscale suburb of Wilmington. According to CNN, Biden has made 55 visits to Delaware, totalling 174 days. In addition, the president has made 19 visits, or all or part of 64 days, to Camp David in Maryland.
In comparison, at this point in his tenure (21 months), Donald Trump had spent 135 days at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, or his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey. Trump had also spent 23 days at Camp David. For family and home-comforts lover Biden, the long-time family home was always a dream. He explained that his idea of fun on a Saturday was to “drive around the Wilmington area scouting open houses, houses for sale, land where we could build,” according to his 2007 autobiography, Promises To Keep. But that’s not their only Delaware-based home…
The Bidens also make time to stay in their Delaware beach house, which they bought in 2017 for $2.7 million (£2.1m). Biden is said to be using his time and location effectively and utilising his “remote White House apparatus” – complete with state-of-the-art resources and technology, to make sure he is always connected and leading the country, according to CNN. The six-bedroom house boasts 4,800-square-foot of living space and while it may seem like a dream vacation home, climate change is threatening the president's vacation retreat. Shockingly, within the next year, the likelihood of flood water reaching the Biden home was put at 50%, rising to 98% within the next five years.
When it comes to weekend getaways, according to CNN, the White House staff has perfected the choreography of managing the departure of the president and first lady on most Fridays. They pack light as most of the couples’ belongings are already in their Delaware homes. In his time off, Joe Biden plays golf at a local course in Wilmington and sees his grandchildren. In Rehoboth, he likes to ride his bike and he and Jill take to the beach in front of their house to sunbathe. Keen animal lovers, the pair "almost always" take their dog, Commander, and cat, Willow, on trips.
On 19 November 2022, the day before President Biden's 80th birthday, his granddaughter, Naomi Biden, tied the knot with her husband Peter Neal at the White House. In the lead-up to the big day, the presidential property was caught in a flurry of activity as the exterior was dressed with garlands and wreaths of fresh foliage, mixed with beautiful white roses and hydrangeas. In an interview with Vogue, Naomi revealed that her close-knit relationship with her grandparents “hasn’t changed much” in recent years, making her choice of venue all the more poignant.
Naomi Biden and her now-husband Peter Neal are pictured here walking their dog across the White House grounds with President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden in June 2022. Months prior to the big day, Naomi and Peter moved into the White House while they finalised their wedding plans. The happy couple, both lawyers, met in New York City in June 2018 when they were set up on a date by mutual friends. Neal attended President Biden's inauguration with Naomi back in January 2021, before reportedly proposing in September of the same year near his childhood home in Wyoming.
Naomi follows in an exclusive tradition of presidential family members who have married at the executive mansion, including President Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter Alice, both of Lynden B. Johnson's daughters, and Tricia Nixon, daughter of President Richard Nixon. However, only 19 weddings and four receptions have ever been hosted at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and Naomi is the first grandchild to wed at the hallowed residence. Shown here, white folding chairs were set up on the South Lawn of the White House, where the ceremony took place.
Adorned in flowers, the façade of the White House looked palatial as guests filtered into the grounds on the morning of the wedding. Naomi shared candid details with Vogue about the challenges of organising a wedding in a location with such stringent security: “It’s hard to ask people for their social security number with their RSVP," she laughed. Event planner Bryan Rafanelli, who also orchestrated Chelsea Clinton's nuptials in New York in 2010, took the lead on the big day.
The ceremony took place at 11am on a bright but cold day – white scarves and hand warmers were thoughtfully placed on each guest's seat. Just before the ceremony started, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden made their entrance arm in arm. As Verve's 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' swelled from the nearby string quartet, Naomi was escorted down the aisle by her parents, Hunter Biden and Kathleen Buhle. The bride held a bouquet of sweet peas and lily of the valley while she exchanged vows with Peter, surrounded by friends and family. While Vogue conducted an interview with Naomi and the First Lady prior to the big day, media were banned from the wedding itself.
The newlyweds gathered for family photographs in the White House's iconic grounds – they're seen here alongside Naomi's beaming grandparents. Announcing her marriage, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden released an official statement: "It has been a joy to watch Naomi grow, discover who she is, and carve out such an incredible life for herself... Now, we are filled with pride to see her choose Peter as her husband and we're honored to welcome him to our family. We wish them days full of laughter and a love that grows deeper with every passing year."
Photographed with First Lady Jill Biden on the cover of Vogue, Naomi's custom Ralph Lauren wedding dress can be seen here in all its splendour. The intricate Chantilly lace design, inspired by Grace Kelly, included a dramatic six-foot train. Jill Biden, who the bride refers to as "nana", reportedly helped her granddaughter plan her lavish nuptials. Naomi also revealed the valuable life lessons her grandmother had imparted to her: "She’s taught me so much about being independent and self-sufficient. But that doesn’t mean you can’t also be a selfless and fiercely loyal partner."
Earlier that week, the Secret Service was pictured standing guard at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, where the couple's rehearsal dinner took place. On the day itself, the wedding was followed by a luncheon in the White House State Dining Room and a black-tie reception at the presidential mansion in the evening. According to People, the newlyweds reportedly had to climb a ladder to cut their ornate, eight-tier lemon wedding cake, which towered seven feet. The celebrations also included a dessert bar, stocked with President Biden's favourite chocolate chip ice cream.
In January 2023, news broke that President Joe Biden's legal team had discovered classified files in the US leader's former private office at a Washington, DC think tank back in November 2022. Biden's lawyers revealed that 10 records were found stored inside a locked closet at the Penn Biden Center. According to the White House, the US Justice Department reviewed the sensitive documents retrieved from the office, while the BBC reported that the FBI was involved with the investigation and US Attorney General Merrick Garland had been asked to examine the files.
Biden is pictured here in 2018 at Chatham House, giving a speech in his former capacity as leader of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. Biden kept an office at the think tank from 2017 to 2020, between his stints as vice president and president. The documents were discovered when Biden's personal attorneys were preparing to vacate the office space. It's not clear how the documents came to be stored in the office, however, Biden's legal team says the records date back to his time as vice president. A source has told CBS News that the files did not contain nuclear secrets, however, according to CNN, the materials reportedly contained information related to Ukraine, Iran and UK, alongside personal Biden family records.
On 12 January 2023, it was announced that a small number of papers with classified markings had also been found at Biden's private residence in Wilmington, Delaware back in December 2022. More top-secret documents were reportedly discovered in a second 13-hour search on 20 January 2023. According to Biden's legal team, all but one of the classified papers were discovered in a storage space inside the home's garage. As with the papers found in his office, some of the documents are said to relate to Biden's tenure as vice president. As soon as the material was discovered, it was immediately reported to the DOJ. While Trump has been indicted in relation to his alleged mishandling of government files, the federal investigation into Biden is still ongoing and according to NBC News, it shows no signs of wrapping up soon.
Biden's son, Hunter, has no shortage of his own legal troubles too, having been charged with misdemeanor tax crimes and illegal firearm possession. He's expected to plead guilty to both charges after accepting a deal from prosecutors. During this turbulent period, some news outlets have remarked on Hunter Biden's regular appearances at the White House and on presidential trips with his father, leading to speculation that the first son has been residing at the executive mansion. In June 2023, Fox News revealed that Hunter's visits have not been documented on the White House visitor logs. Famously a close-knit family, the president has not shied away from offering public support to his son.
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