Angella Reid, the first woman and only the second African American to be the chief usher at the White House, has been fired. White House residence staff learned of the firing Friday morning, the Washington Post reports.
“We are very grateful for her service and wish her the very best,” a White House official told the Post.
The chief usher—which is weirdly named, since chief ushers take people to their seats in churches and boss around lower ushers—is responsible for overseeing “all activities in the White House residence and works as general manager of the building, handling everything from the large staff of butlers, maids, chefs, florists and electricians to fiscal, administrative and personal duties,” the Post reports.
Something sounds really fishy here. This is a job that usually survives administrations. According to the Post, there have only been nine chief ushers since the beginning of the 20th century. Reid took over the job in 2011 from the first African-American chief usher, Adm. Stephen W. Rochon, who left to work with the Department of Homeland Security.
The White House declined to comment on Reid’s firing.
“If there is a very compelling reason for the dismissal, the White House needs to tell the public,” Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian and professor of history at Rice University, told the Post. “Otherwise it comes off as cruel.”
Read more at the Washington Post.