White House Tells CEOs to Pony Up for Meal After Lunch With Obama
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In an effort to avoid conflicts of interest, the White House charged four of the most powerful business leaders in the country for the cost of their lunch after they dined with President Obama last month, FOX Business confirmed.
The White House staff collected the credit card numbers of Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox Corporation; Muhtar Kent, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company; AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, and Honeywell International CEO Dave Cote for the lunch, Politico reported Thursday.
"From time to time, White House guests are asked to reimburse for their meals. The reasons include ensuring there is no conflict or appearance of a conflict," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told Politico. "That is consistent with our tough ethics rules, and we will continue the practice when appropriate."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But critics say the White House needs to lighten up.
"I'm sure they have their political reasons for doing that, but I think it's not what 'hospitality' is all about," Letitia Baldrige, who headed Jacqueline Kennedy's White House staff in the early 1960s, told Politico. "We've got to relax about this. To have people to the White House and worry about the price of things is laughable."
The White House didn't say what was served for lunch or how much the guests were charged. Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett organized the lunch to give Obama a chance to hear directly from executives struggling through the economic recession.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This is something that happens on an ongoing basis," Jarrett told Politico. "A lot of CEOs have now had the opportunity to sit around the table with the president."