When I accepted the job I agreed to stay for two years, he said in an interview with White House History Quarterly, a publication of the White House Historical Association. In 2020, a few weeks after major TV networks projected Biden defeated Trump in the presidential race, the General Services Administration began the formal transition process. Haney reports to the chief usher, and supervises a full-time staff of 12 gardeners, maintenance workers, electricians and plumbers. Grisham's testimony showed the apparent desire of Trump to delay or prevent a smooth transition of power after the heavily contested 2020 presidential election. Harleth's firing caused an awkward moment for the Biden couple during the inauguration when a set of closed doors welcomed them at the White House's North Portico. Melania reportedly told the former president that Harleth knew "a lot of intimate facts about the family," warning his husband that the former chief usher could reveal to the public what he knew about the Trump family if he would be fired quickly.īut despite the former first lady's pleading, Harleth was fired on Inauguration Day, the New York Times reported. Grisham said Trump and Meadows felt Harleth's actions were "completely disloyal." The former press secretary added they wanted him not to help the Bidens during the transition.įormer First Lady Melania Trump intervened, urging his husband not to fire Harleth with three weeks left into his administration, Grisham revealed. "The President and Mark Meadows wanted to fire him immediately for trying to facilitate that kind of a transition," Grisham said. Harleth's communication with the Bidens was eventually found out by Trump and his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, which irked the former president and wanted to fire him immediately. Grisham described Harleth's reaching out to Biden's transition team as "the normal stuff that you would do" during the transition period, but she pointed out that he "wasn't really allowed" to talk to them, Axios reported. "He independently reached out to the Biden people and actually drove a big binder of just kind of how things work in the White House, blueprints so that they could order furniture if they wanted," Grisham said, according to the transcript published by the select committee. There was no usher to greet the new residents of the White House. Grisham said Harleth provided Biden's team with a big binder to assist the incoming first family in transitioning into the executive mansion. Chapter 3: The White House Chief Usher There have been only nine chief ushers since the position was established and given to Eldon Dinsmore in 1885. Donald and Melania Trump sent White House ushers home early on Inauguration Day in one of their last acts in a tense presidential transition, a well-placed official not associated with the. Grisham told the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol that former White House chief usher Timothy Harleth "independently" reached out with then-President-elect Joe Biden's transition team. WASHINGTON The chief usher at the White House, Angella Reid, who was the second African-American and the first woman to have a job whose title belies its broad responsibilities. ADVERTISEMENT As per our previous report, Timothy Harleth, who was the chief usher of the White House during the Trump administration and was supposed to welcome the Bidens, was fired less than five hours before the event. The testimony of former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham revealed that former President Donald Trump wanted to immediately fire the former White House chief usher for helping the Biden family move into the presidential compound. There was no usher to greet the new residents of the White House. Harleth was eventually fired on Inauguration Day even though the former first lady pleaded not to fire him.Former First Lady Melania Trump warned the former president that Harleth might reveal what he knew about their family.Former White House Chief Usher Timothy Harleth helped the Biden transition team move into the mansion. There are rules about all these things and everyone has their job. You couldn’t expect the Biden staff to know to do that. “That may be why there was nobody to open the doors to the Bidens. “It’s a big protocol breach for the president to ever stand in front of a closed door at the White House,” said a veteran White House social expert. Read More: Melania Trump breaks virus protocol at children’s hospital by removing mask Harleth had already vacated the premises by the time Joe and Jill Biden arrived at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, leaving no one in place to open the doors for their inaugural entry and leading to an awkward pause. Other knowledgeable sources confirmed that Harleth, a former executive of Trump Hotels hired by Melania Trump, was fired by the outgoing president and first lady - and not by the Bidens, as was widely reported afterward. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.
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