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White House staff readies for whirlwind moving day

Posted at 9:31 AM, Jan 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-01 09:31:35-05

HONOLULU, Hawaii — While the world watches President-elect Donald Trump take the oath of office on Inauguration Day, almost 100 White House staffers will be watching the clock while they have only six hours to transform and prepare the 132-room mansion into the new first family’s home.

On the morning of January 20, President Barack Obama and the current first family will say goodbye to the place they’ve called home for eight years, at 10:30 in the morning.

Immediately after they leave their former home, White House staff rushes to prepare it for Trump and his family according to their own preferences and style.

Movers plan to take the Obamas’ belongings out to trucks on the South Lawn facing away from the White House and move the incoming first family’s belongings inside from trucks on the other side of the driveway.

“It’s more like organized chaos,” Chief White House usher Stephen Rochon told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” in an interview that aired Sunday.

While movers hurry back and forth, other areas of the White House are set up including new touches to the dining rooms. The kitchen staff also cooks up an inaugural snack for the first family to enjoy before they attend the late night inaugural balls.

Rochon said anything can be changed on the second and third floors of the White House, which are used as the private floors for the first family.

One of Obama’s main requests upon moving in was a special rain shower head for his bathroom, Rochon. said.

As far as Trump’s requests, the President-elect told Tapper that he does not have plans to redecorate the White House in his signature opulent style saying, “It’s a very special place. … I’m going to be working. I’m not going to be decorating.”