White House Names First Openly Gay Social Secretary
After both a historic (see Desiree Rogers, the first African-American social secretary) and shaky start (see Ms. Rogers, whose first state dinner would best be remembered as “Salahi-gate”), the White House made history yet again when it announced Friday that Jeremy Bernard will be the new social secretary. Mr. Bernard will be the first openly gay person to hold that position.
“Jeremy shares our vision for the White House as the people’s house, one that celebrates our history and culture in dynamic and inclusive ways,” President Obama said in an e-mail statement. “We look forward to Jeremy continuing to showcase America’s arts and culture to our nation and the world through the many events at the White House.”
Currently, Mr. Bernard serves as senior adviser to the United States ambassador to France. He previously served as the White House liaison to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Mr. Bernard and Rufus Gifford, his then-partner, were early supporters of Mr. Obama’s candidacy in California. The pair lived in Los Angeles and raised millions of dollars for Mr. Obama when he was an Illinois senator.
When they moved to Washington, they scored a two-bedroom in a green building in the city’s hip Logan Circle neighborhood, and quickly earned a reputation as a power couple.
“I am deeply humbled to join the White House staff as Social Secretary and support President Obama and the First Lady in this role,” Mr. Bernard said in an e-mail statement. “I have long admired the arts and education programs that have become hallmarks of the Obama White House, and I am eager to continue these efforts in the years ahead.”
Mr. Bernard will be the third social secretary in the Obama administration. After Ms. Rogers left, she was replaced by Julianna Smoot, a fund-raising powerhouse and political operative who stepped down in February after just 10 months, to join the president’s re-election operation in Chicago.
Jonathan Capehart, an openly gay man and editorial writer for The Washington Post, first broke news of Mr. Bernard’s hiring in a blog post this afternoon. After disclosing that he and Mr. Bernard are friends, he praised the appointment as “an excellent choice.”
“He will bring a certain warmth and irreverence to the job that will make him a joy for his colleagues to work with,” Mr. Capehart wrote. “His knowledge of the Obamas and his intense attention to detail will ensure that their vision for the people’s house continues seamlessly. And he has a reverence for the presidency and the meaning of the White House that will make him an imaginative steward of their image.”
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