President Obama reported to work at 8:35 a.m. on Wednesday, walking into the Oval Office for the first time as the nation’s chief executive. Jeff Zeleny is following Mr. Obama’s first day on the job. See his full report here.

All eyes in the White House are on the Senate confirmation hearing of Hillary Rodham Clinton. If she’s confirmed this afternoon, those sirens you hear on Pennsylvania Avenue will likely be her security detail racing toward the White House. The president is having his first meeting on Iraq — in the Situation Room — and if Mrs. Clinton is confirmed in time, she’ll be on hand.

Is someone keeping a list of any gaffes – or botched jokes – that Vice President Biden makes?

If so, perhaps the first official entry came this afternoon, when President Obama asked Mr. Biden if he would give members of his senior staff the oath of office. For a moment, it seemed as though the vice president thought the swearing-in included him.

“Am I doing this again?” Mr. Biden asked.

“Senior staff,” Mr. Obama replied.

“My memory is not as good as Justice Roberts,” Mr. Biden said, referring to the Chief Justice’s flubbed lines during the presidential swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.

Several staff members in the room laughed. The president did not.

Welcome to the White House. Did I tell you there won’t be any pay raises?

That was essentially the message President Obama delivered to senior members of his administration who were sworn into their new jobs on Wednesday afternoon.

During a ceremony in Room 450 of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Mr. Obama signed the first executive order of his presidency, a measure intended to fulfill a campaign promise by closing the what he called the “revolving door” of people who immediately segue from government to lobbying.

“Public service is a privilege. It’s not about advantaging yourself. It’s not about advancing your friends or your corporate clients,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s not about advancing an ideological agenda or the special interests of any organization. Public service is simply and absolutely about advancing the interests of Americans.”

The rule would freeze salaries at their current levels for the White House employees who earn more than $100,000 a year. About 100 staffers fall into that category, if the salaries are in line with what positions paid during the last administration.

“Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington,” Mr. Obama said.

The lobbying rules would attempt to keep advisers from having an influence over the administration after leaving the White House. New employees who came from the lobbying world, he said, cannot work on subjects for which they lobbied.

All White House personnel are required to take an ethics class similar to one that he said he attended last week.

The president’s first calls to foreign leaders were directed – not surprisingly – toward the Middle East.

Mr. Obama spoke by telephone to President Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Olmert of Israel, King Abdullah of Jordan, and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. Few details of the calls were provided, but the White House announced them as a way to show the president’s engagement in the conflict.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs released this statement:

He used this opportunity on his first day in office to communicate his commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term, and to express his hope for their continued cooperation and leadership.



In the aftermath of the Gaza conflict, he emphasized his determination to work to help consolidate the ceasefire by establishing an effective anti-smuggling regime to prevent Hamas from rearming, and facilitating in partnership with the Palestinian Authority a major reconstruction effort for Palestinians in Gaza. He pledged that the United States would do its part to make these efforts successful, working closely with the international community and these partners as they fulfill their responsibilities as well. The President appreciated the spirit of partnership and warm nature of these calls.

It’s noon and the first official White House schedule of the day has just been released. (This is not a complaint, but rather a good sign: The email system is up-and-running, which had been an issues earlier in the day.)

This is what it looks like:

1:15PM-2:15PM President Obama Addresses Staff and Cabinet Secretaries POOL PRESS 2:30 PM President Obama Attends White House Open House Base of stair case on the ground level by State Room. POOL PRESS 3:15PM-3:45PM President Obama Meets with Economic Advisors Roosevelt Room CLOSED PRESS 4:15PM-5:15PM President Obama Meets with Iraq Military Commanders CLOSED PRESS

Mr. Obama, in between public events, is meeting privately with advisers. Earlier on Wednesday, he spoke by telephone to four leaders in the Middle East, weighing in for the first time on the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict.

More details on that coming up.

When Mr. Obama returns to the White House from the National Cathedral, aides said, he will sign a few executive orders, including one that restricts any White House employee from lobbying the Obama administration upon leaving office. It is the so-called revolving door policy that Mr. Obama pledged during the campaign.

The president will not sign an order to suspend tribunals at Guantanamo Bay on Wednesday, aides said, but rather wait until Thursday or Friday to make good on that campaign promise.

In addition to the executive orders, there are two big agenda items for the president’s first day: the economy and national security.

As he ran for office, when voters would ask what his first task in office would be, Mr. Obama’s answer was always the same: “I will bring the Joint Chiefs of Staff in, and I will give them a new mission.”

So today is that day. Don’t look for a new mission by sundown, but rather a discussion of how troops can be redeployed in Iraq in the next 16 months.

At 4 p.m., Mr. Obama is scheduled to walk into the Situation Room for the first time for a meeting on Iraq and Afghanistan. Vice President Joseph R. Biden will join the president, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and a handful of administration advisers. General David Petreaus, who flew overnight to Washington from Afghanistan, also will be on hand, along with General Raymond Odierno, who will be connected via secure video from Iraq.

While the meeting starts at 4 p.m., aides said, it has no definitive ending time.

The lower press office on the first floor of the West Wing was locked until about 9 a.m., when Bill Burton, a deputy White House press secretary opened the doors. He sat in the office alone as a line of reporters waited for any morsel of information about the president’s day.

“If you guys give me 15 minutes, I will send something out,” said Mr. Burton, who wore a patient smile as he greeted a new correspondent from French TV and shook hands with veteran reporters like Ann Compton from ABC News who dropped by to say hello.

Fresh coats of paint – a buttery yellow – are covering the walls in some of the West Wing offices. The computers are freshly cleaned. (No, the “Os” are not missing from the keyboards.) And new members of the Obama administration are still trying to make it through security, even as others arrive with a few boxes and things for their desks.



“Welcome,” reads a red note card – with the presidential seal – that is placed on the computers. “For assistance with facility service issues, office layout and furniture please contact the Facilities Management Office.”

The new offices are designated not by nameplates, but by pieces of paper taped to the outside of the doors. The people who will be speaking for the president, who work in a small office just outside the press briefing room, include: Bill Burton, Josh Earnest, Jen Psaki, Tommy Vietor, Reid Cherlin, Ben LaBolt and Nick Shapiro.

At 9:46 a.m., another reporter walked into the press office.

“Good morning,” Mr. Burton said.

“I came to introduce myself,” the woman said. “I’m Helen Thomas.”

President Obama reported to work at 8:35 a.m. on Wednesday, walking into the Oval Office for the first time as the nation’s chief executive.

He read the note left behind by George W. Bush, which was sitting in a folder on top of the desk, with a note marked “44.” Mr. Obama was in the office alone for a brief time, aides said, starting his day after a late night celebrating and dancing at inaugural balls across Washington.

So the new White House is officially opened for business, but it feels more like a start-up than the seat of government.



White House press secretary Robert Gibbs is not holding a briefing on Wednesday, aides said, deciding to delay his first official briefing until Thursday. Why? Most members of his staff have been waiting outside to be allowed onto the White House grounds.

Mr. Obama, who is on his way to a prayer service at the National Cathedral, has a series of meetings coming up with this economic advisers and the Joint Chiefs. He also will preside over the Cabinet swearing-in ceremony for seven members of his Cabinet who were confirmed on Tuesday by the Senate.