Moving Day at the White House full of taxpayer-financed Covid-19 cleanings and commuting sports equipment

The delicate and highly choreographed event of packing and leaving, unpacking and entering, made by dozens of prepared and trained employees responsible for the change, usually takes place at the six-hour window, when presidents entering and leaving and their spouses participate in the inauguration Ceremonies of the day at the Capitol. When the new president and first lady return to the White House, all of their things will have been transferred and ready to go – to the fridge stocked with their favorite foods and the master bathroom equipped with their favorite shampoo.

Before the Bidens move, the White House will first undergo a Covid-19 cleanup, from top to bottom, from the East Wing to the West Wing. According to federal contract data revised by CNN, the total of the White House’s expanded grand opening for a thorough cleanup now stands at around half a million dollars.

In traditional management changes, most of the cleaning, although thorough, is done predominantly by White House employees – housekeepers, butlers, ushers – and maintenance, such as electrical repairs and minor maintenance work performed by White House employees, of which there are usually 90 to 100 in roles ranging from pastry chefs to florists and plumbers.

However, this time, the new Biden administration wanted to ensure that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which has been a hot spot for at least three Covid-19 escapes, receives the kind of clearance that a pandemic deserves, according to a White House official. who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity.

“The idea that they would just move on seems unlikely,” said the official, who was not aware of the specific contract numbers, but was aware that additional steps were being taken after the Trumps left the White House.

The big day

“People tend to forget how big this building is,” said the official; the White House is about 55,000 square feet.

The Biden transition team did not immediately respond to a request from CNN to comment on additional cleaning contracts.

Additional inaugural cleaning contracts, which were all done through the Public Buildings Service within the General Services Administration, include more than $ 29,000 to clean the curtains in the East Wing, West Wing and Eisenhower Executive Office Building and $ 53,000 for painting and wall coverings.

Normally, the time window on the day of the inauguration is not enough to update the painting and wallpaper of the house, but as now there is more time, thanks to what appears to be the early departure of the Trump on January 19, the walls will be renewed. A $ 37,975 contract was awarded to a company in Annapolis, Maryland, for waste removal and recycling, “in line with the scope of the work in relation to the 2021 opening.”

Another $ 50,000 was hired to pay overtime for those responsible for the move.

Melania Trump already making moves

Despite the national turmoil, two sources confirm to CNN that much of her attention has been in her collection of photo albums, a hobby she has maintained for more than a decade, cutting and creating large leather-bound albums with the dates and occasions of each of the contents.

One of the sources familiar with her penchant for photo albums said the first lady used the services of her official White House photographer, Andrea Hanks, to help her complete her personal projects. Hanks is a government employee and her request for overtime angered colleagues at the White House photo office.

The east wing did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.

Bidens moving

Meanwhile, Biden’s transition team has already contacted White House leader Timothy Harleth, two sources told CNN. Harleth was hired by Melania Trump in June 2017; he previously worked at Trump International Hotel Washington as a room manager. A White House source said Harleth is secretly helping Biden’s team navigate the process of change, as the tradition of the current first lady welcoming the first lady has never happened under the Trump administration – Melania Trump yet failed to speak to Jill Biden.

As such, communication between the teams on the two opposite sides is non-existent, where previous administrations, even those on opposite sides of the political corridor, have already had a long and in-depth discussion of movement logistics.

It is unclear, for example, whether the Biden family moving trucks will be allowed to transport the President-elect’s beloved Peloton from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to the White House residence. Self-driving bicycles usually have video cameras that connect to the Internet, which can be one of the little hiccups.

High-tech gadgets from previous presidents typically required security checks and updates – especially when they connected to the Internet or cellular networks. The Washington Post reported in February 2019 that Trump had a $ 50,000 room-sized golf simulator installed at the White House – replacing a less sophisticated simulator installed by President Barack Obama. At the time, the price of TrackMan’s fully configured Trump simulator, which has golf simulators on several Trump properties, started at around $ 50,000.

State-of-the-art simulators, like those of the TrackMan, usually connect to the Internet and have sensors or cameras. US Secret Service emails obtained by CNN through the Freedom of Information Act show that agency personnel, including a security detail call to the Secret Service Technical Security Division, exchanged “notes” and “information techniques “in the TrackMan golf simulator in the months before its reported installation.

Previous presidents did not have these high-tech problems. President George W. Bush ordered exercise equipment, including an elliptical machine and dumbbells, to be installed in a cabin by the pool, steps from the Oval Office, and a folding mat to be placed on board Air Force One. enough not to raise safety flags.

It is not known whether Biden’s Platoon will receive the same scrutiny.