White House social aides report to a coordinator in the office of the White House Social Secretary. Their duties include managing "guests who attend social functions at the White House, facilitate interactions with the president and first lady and escort dignitaries". In the past, this has included entertaining single guests, such as providing dance companions; initiating small talk with lonely guests during teas; directing the flow of traffic at receiving lines; and greeting visitors. When visitors are received by the President of the United States, three social aides are assigned to coordinate the interaction: the "whispering aide" who whispers the visitor's name to the president, the "introducing aide" who presents the visitor to the president, and the "pulling off aide" who encourages the visitor to step away once the president signals the interaction has concluded. Social aides are also expected to identify and resolve social miscues; during one visit by King Hussein of Jordan to the White House during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, a reporter attempted to cut in on the king to ask him questions during social dancing. According to The New York Times, a social aide "came to the rescue by cutting in and deftly waltzing the young woman off the dance floor".
Selection
White House social aides cannot be married, must be commissioned officers with a rank no higher than major, be assigned to Washington, D.C., and have "impeccable appearance". According to a statement provided to The New York Times, the restriction on married social aides is due to the significant evening demands placed on aides that might interfere with their marital relationship. However, Stephen Bauer – who served as a social aide – has written that the prohibition on wedded aides is to prevent a scandal developing in the event a social aide is invited into a romantic relationship with a guest. Because social aides have direct access to the President of the United States, prospective aides must successfully pass a Yankee White review demonstrating their "unquestionable loyalty to the United States".
Notable social aides
As daughter of President of the United States Lyndon Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson was given "pick of the litter" of White House social aides and ultimately selected Captain Charles Robb as her personal escort. She later wed Robb in 1967 in a White House ceremony; Robb would ultimately become the 64th Governor of Virginia.
