Obama taps campaign finance director Julianna Smoot as next White House social secretary
By APSaturday, February 27, 2010
Obama selects campaign adviser as social secretary
WASHINGTON — It didn’t take long for the White House to name the next social secretary.
Julianna Smoot, who was chief of staff to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, takes over at the White House for Desiree Rogers. Smoot was finance director for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
The White House said on Friday that Rogers, a longtime Chicago friend of the Obamas, was stepping down. That announcement came three months after an uninvited couple crashed the Obama administration’s first state dinner. Rogers was criticized for her role in allowing the embarrassing episode to happen.
The president says Smoot shares the Obamas’ commitment “to creating an inclusive, dynamic and culturally vibrant White House.”
