A member of the WH staff for the current and previous administrations appeared on HLN (Nancy Grace?) last night. Apparently, her "eye for detail" and organizational skills were not only unappreciated by WH social secretary, Desiree Rogers, they were abrasive to Rogers' style. The staffer alluded to some animosity, but never stated it forthrightly. She was forbidden from discharging many of the duties to which she was accustomed and consequently found the job completely redefined and dissatisfying. She took advantage of her govt-employed husband's assignment to a different state to justify tendering her resignation (without burning a bridge).
In the Senate hearing today regarding the actions of the Salahis, someone (Secret Svc?) ventured that the party crashing incident likely wouldn't have happened if a certain station had been occupied by a WH staffer as it was in years past. Sounds like he was referring to the aforementioned WH staffer. I think the current WH staff dropped the ball, but the buck stops with the U.S. Secret Service, and they are appropriately and responsibly taking the fall.
I remember hearing in the early days of the Obama administration that they wanted the WH to be more open, more accessible. I wondered then if someone would think that meant they could just stroll across the lawn or pop in at their leisure. I guess at least one couple did. Best to let the Secret Service have the ultimate (and dispassionate) authority in issues of security and the WH social staff can smooth any feathers ruffled in the process.
