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West Wing Reports

20 Jan, 16 tweets, 6 min read

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This Day, 1801: John Adams, a lame duck president, nominated John Marshall to be chief justice of the Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed him seven days later. Marshall would serve in that role for 34 years

This Day, 1937: Franklin Roosevelt became the first president to be inaugurated on Jan. 20th (they used to be Mar. 4). In his Inaugural address, he said the fight against the Great Depression was far from over: “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.”

This Day, 1949: The interlude between World War II and the Korean War was brief, as Harry Truman - a caretaker president since Apr 12, 1945 - was sworn n

This Day, 1953: After receiving permission from Dwight Eisenhower - just sworn in as the 34th President - rodeo star Montie Montana lassoed him. Mamie Eisenhower seems delighted; VP Nixon perplexed. Secret Service wasn't too happy

He was the youngest person ever elected - just 43 years old. John F. Kennedy, sworn in this day in 1961 (youngest POTUS ever, however: Theodore Rosevelt, 42, who took over for the assassinated William McKinley in 1901)

This Day, 1965: Lyndon Johnson, a caretaker President since Nov, 22, 1963, was sworn in for his own term. Here: Johnny Carson and Barbra Streisand in the receiving line

@ClintHill_SS

The '61 Lincoln Continental that Pres. Kennedy was murdered in? You may not know that it was refurbished and used by LBJ, Nixon, Ford & Carter. Here: LBJ rides down Pennsylvania Ave. - this day 1965. Also shown: @ClintHill_SS - who leaped into the car moments after JFK was shot

As LBJ was sworn in, Robert Kennedy - now a Senator from New York - seemed lost in thought. It should have been his brother's second inaugural. RFK and LBJ harbored a bitter hatred for each other - and that may be understating it

This Day, 1969: Lyndon Johnson - exhausted and delighted to be heading home to Texas - with his successor, Richard Nixon

This Day, 1977: After a decade dominated by Vietnam and Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised a new era of openness and honesty in the White House. Here: He and Rosalynn after departing the Capitol

This Day, 1981: Jimmy Carter, crushed in a landslide by Ronald Reagan, escorts his successor to the Capitol. At that very moment, a parallel drama was playing out: the release of 52 American hostages from Iran - after 444 days in captivity

Just the fourth sitting VP to be elected to the presidency (can you name the others?), George H.W. Bush was sworn in this day in 1989. As his predecessor Ronald Reagan departed the Capitol that day, Bush said: "There goes a good man."

This Day, 1993: Bill Clinton was sworn in. The '90s were a time of peace and prosperity - but also, in retrospect, the beginning of a nasty, hyperpartisan era in American politics that has only gotten worse

This Day, 2001: After one of the most controversial and drawn out elections in American history, George W. Bush was sworn in. His agenda would soon be upended by the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor (and bloodier)

This Day, 2009: George W. Bush seemed happy to be relieved of the burdens of the presidency as he greeted his successor Barack Obama, on the North Portico (Photo/WWR)

This Day, 2017: Donald Trump, at the time the oldest person ever elected to the presidency and the fifth POTUS to lose the popular vote, was sworn in

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19 Jan

Who takes over if a President dies, resigns or is incapacitated? The order changed this day in 1886, when Grover Cleveland signed the Presidential Succession Act. VP remained #1, but Secretary of State moved up to #2. The 1886 law, a revision from 1792, would change again in 1947

Here's how the White House looked this day in 1950, as a massive gut renovation of the mansion continued. The Trumans lived down the street in Blair House

This Day, 1955: Dwight Eisenhower held the first (taped) televised presidential news conference. "Well, I see we are trying a new experiment this morning," he told the assembled White House press corps. "I hope it doesn't prove to be a disturbing influence.” (more)

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On this MLK Day, President-Elect and Mrs. Biden are volunteering at a hunger relief organization in Philadelphia. It's a renewal of a presidential tradition of giving back, and helping those less fortunate - a tradition that frankly has been absent for the last four years (more)

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Trump also went out of his way to mock the volunteer organization set up by George H.W. Bush - the "Points of Light" Foundation. Shameful and ignorant washingtonpost.com/video/politics…

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18 Jan

Talk about foresight:
This day in 1803, Thomas Jefferson asked Congress to fund the Lewis and Clark expedition of the Louisiana Territory. This was rather brilliant - given that Napoleon hadn't even offered to sell it yet (more)

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Jefferson asked Congress for $2,500, but in an early demonstration of federal cost overruns, the eventual cost of the Lewis & Clark expedition would top $50,000

John Tyler, who died this day in 1862, wasn't much of a President, except for this: after succeeding the late William Henry Harrison in 1841, he established the standard of the VP becoming POTUS. The Constitution did not explicitly discuss this and there was a dispute
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2 Jan

Theodore Roosevelt shut down the post office in Indianola, Mississippi - this day 1902 - because it refused to accept a black woman as postmaster. This bigotry reared its ugly head despite the fact that Minnie Cox had already been a postmaster since 1891 (more)

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Cox, known for her professionalism and dedication, worked long hours and payed late rent on post office boxes to help her customers. She even personally paid for a post office telephone so citizens could call to see if they had any mail to pick up.

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But as the post-Civil War policy of reconstruction—which had helped Blacks find work in the deep South—faded in the early 20th century, white citizens in Indianola argued that a good job such as postmaster should be held by whites. A petition called for Cox to resign (more)

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1 Jan

The White House celebrated its first New Year’s Day - on this day in 1801 - with a 4:00 p.m. reception hosted by President John Adams and his wife Abigail (the term “First Lady” would first be used decades later) /1

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President and Mrs. Adams served dinner to their guests and they were entertained by the United States Marine Band - making its White House debut. Back then, “the President’s Own” consisted of eight to ten musicians. In 1801, the mansion looked like this (no porticoes)

Adams, the second president and first to live in the White House, had only been a resident for two months—but was already a lame duck, having been beaten by Thomas Jefferson in the nasty election of 1800. The mansion itself still needed a lot of work

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