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Joe And Jill Biden Left Standing In The Cold After White House Door Mix-Up

Joe And Jill Biden Left Standing In The Cold After White House Door Mix-Up

The man responsible for the doors had been sacked earlier that day

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

The new President and First Lady of the United States, Joe and Jill Biden, were left standing in the cold outside the White House after the front doors of the building weren't opened up for them.

The momentary inconvenience outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue occurred - apparently - because the chief usher of the building had been fired just hours before.

That meant the pair were left standing on the doorstep of what is now their own house with the entire world watching on.

As they posed, with a military band playing 'Hail to the Chief' nearby, the couple - entering the building with their family for the first time - embraced, and turned around hoping to enter the house.

However, the doors simply didn't open for them for about 10 seconds.

That meant the Bidens standing around outside like a right pair of lemons until the doors eventually swung open and allowed them to enter.

PA

It's not exactly clear why the doors didn't open, but it is a pretty safe bet the sacking of Timothy Harleth, the former chief usher of the White House, had something to do with it.

While the opening of the doors is usually done by US Marine guards, the chief usher is in charge of greeting and welcoming the president and his family, as well as looking after the general operations of the house.

Because Harleth had been sacked earlier that day, he wasn't there to help out.

Harleth, who used to be the rooms manager at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, was informed that his services were no longer required at 11.30am on the day of the inauguration, the New York Times reports.

That was just five hours before the mix-up occurred. Obviously they didn't have the time to find a suitable replacement.

It's a big job, after all.

PA

Harleth had been personally chosen for the job by former First Lady Melania Trump in 2017, but the Biden administration decided they'd rather have someone else in the post.

Despite having been selected for his 'impressive work history and management skills', he was relieved of his duties.

The job is normally supposed to be a non-political one, but given Harleth's employment history it could be that his appointment was seen as a partisan one.

In a statement, Harleth said: "It has been an honor to serve as chief usher, a position whose loyalty is not to a specific president, but rather to the institution of the presidency.

"I am proud that I had the opportunity to lead the residence staff to receive the incoming first family with the utmost respect and dignity, not just for this administration, but for the future success of the office of the president."

Anyway, they eventually managed to find their way in, and the process of setting up the new administration continued.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: US News, Weird, Politics