Who answers the White House phone, anyway?
Thanks to Rush Limbaugh, health-care-related calls are flooding Obama's operators. Here, 6 burning questions about America's most famous telephone

White House and congressional operators are being swamped with health-care-related phone calls. Though one "very significant spike" occurred after conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh urged his listeners to register their disapproval, Democrats say the flood of calls also reflects support for reform. Here's a look at the legendary White House telephone line:
1. Who answers when I call the White House?
Depends on which number you call. The public comment line (202-456-1111) is manned by volunteers recruited by the current administration. The White House switchboard (202-456-1414) is manned by professional White House operators. Only privileged parties are privy to the "secret number" that reaches the president directly (see below).
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. How often are the lines jammed by protest calls?
It tends to happen when controversial legislation is up for a vote; both the 2008 Wall Street bailout and 2007 immigration overhaul bill provoked more calls than the system could handle. Reaction to certain cataclysmic events, such as John F. Kennedy's assassination, have also overloaded the presidential phone system.
3. When did the White House first get a telephone?
May 10, 1877, when Rutherford B. Hayes had one installed in the White House telegraph room. The first White House phone number was "1," but the phone was directly connected to just one other early adopter, the Treasury Department.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
4. You mean the president didn't have his own phone?
No, not until Herbert Hoover had one set up in the Oval Office in 1929. And even then, it wasn't a private line until Clinton revamped the White House phone system in 1993. Clinton complained that anyone in the White House could listen in on his calls by picking up an extension and pressing a button. According to a WIRED.com report: "Clinton got a lot of mileage during the early weeks of his administration by telling cocktail-party stories of little old ladies sweating away at the White House's vintage 1960s 'plug-and-play' switchboard."
5. Who is eligible to call the president's "secret number"?
Very few people; the Oval Office number is tightly guarded and routed through a separate switchboard. In a controversial 2007 incident, a 16-year-old teen in Iceland dialed what he mistakenly believed to be the secret number and — posing as Iceland's president — managed to get far as President George W. Bush's secretary.
6. Does the iconic "red phone" still exist?
A telegraph "Hot Line" between the Kremlin and the White House was set up in 1963 after communication lags exacerbated the Cuban Missile Crisis. A direct phone link was set up in 1971, and a fax line added in 1986. Though the "red telephone" seems to have become obsolete, it frequently pops up in fiction and political propaganda — Hillary Clinton's 3 a.m. phone call ad and Glenn Beck's "emergency line to the White House" stunt being recent examples.
Sources: History Channel, ABC News, Wired, Time, Wikipedia, Mediabistro, BuzzFlash
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodle
Cartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Why are Trump's health rumors about more than just presidential fitness?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Extended absences and unexplained bruises have raised concerns about both his well-being and his administration's transparency
-
Why reports of Donald Trump's demise are greatly exaggerated
In The Spotlight US president has once again brushed aside rumours that he's dead
-
Trump soaks up adoration in his made-for-TV Cabinet meetings
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's televised sessions have become a platform for his top lieutenants to demonstrate executive flattery
-
Why do Dana White and Donald Trump keep pushing for a White House UFC match?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president and the sports mogul each have their own reasons for wanting a White House spectacle
-
Trump: Redesigning the White House
Feature Donald Trump unveiled a $200 million plan to build a White House ballroom
-
Congress should 'step in' to block Trump's White House ballroom makeover
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein