The White House is apparently infested with mice, roaches, and ants
There is a situation in the Situation Room. White House work order requests obtained by NBC News4 reveal a number of intimate details about the first family's lives in D.C. (Melania Trump requested a large screen TV, the Oval Office bathroom needed a new toilet seat), but if there is one major takeaway about managing a historic building, it's that you can't be squeamish about pests.
To start, there are the mice, which reportedly got cozy in the Situation Room and the Navy mess food hall: "Add more traps, they spotted mice run in the small and big dining rooms," one request read. Another alarming request implored someone to "PLEASE … PICK UP DEAD MOUSE," with the deceased rodent's location apparently being Vice President Mike Pence's West Wing office.
Cockroaches are also a problem at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., with at least four infestations reported in the work order requests. Then there are the ants: "Treat for ants in the West Wing 1st floor COS Office, especially the main entrance and the small office," one order said. Another simply conveyed the urgency with its all-caps "ANTS."
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Trump Tower this is not. Read a sampling of the White House work orders via NBC here.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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