How a First Lady Prepares for Life in the White House

Stepping into the role of first lady is one of the most visible and closely scrutinized transitions in American public life. While the presidency comes with a constitutional job description, the first lady’s role is a mix of tradition, diplomacy and the priorities of the incoming administration. All of that comes together during the whirlwind weeks between Election Day and Inauguration Day.  

While first ladies get more breathing space than their spouses, work ramps up quickly, says MaryAnne Borrelli, a government professor at Connecticut College and author of The Politics of the President’s Wife.

The early weeks and months, she adds, are about “negotiating routines, relationships and power structures”—the same work happening across the West Wing—alongside the added challenge of defining the role itself.

There’s no legal blueprint for being first lady. The White House Historical Association calls presidential transitions “remarkable” undertakings that symbolize continuity and change, and first ladies have long used the transition period to figure out how they’ll balance ceremonial duties, public advocacy and the social and cultural life of the White House. 

Some arrive with clear policy interests, while others lean into diplomacy and representation. But all of them face intense public scrutiny—especially around appearance. 

“As antiquated as it is, what the first lady wears to the swearing-in ceremony and later to the inaugural balls is really important,” says Kate Andersen Brower, author of The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House and First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies. “At least that is what we see in the media. Our culture focuses on women's appearances and first ladies are often held to very high, unfair standards.” 

The expectations don’t stop there. 

First ladies typically create a platform within a few months. These tend to be related to children, such as Laura Bush’s focus on education, Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign promoting fitness and Melania Trump's Be Best initiative focused in part on combating cyberbullying. “It is impossible, however, to come up with a cause that doesn't offend someone somewhere, especially in the age of social media,” adds Brower.

One of the biggest behind-the-scenes tasks is building the first lady's team. That office has traditionally been housed in the East Wing, though renovations have required staff to work from temporary locations. According to the White House Transition Project, which Borrelli contributed to, the incoming first lady must quickly assemble a staff to manage communications, scheduling, social events, policy work and public engagement.

The project emphasizes that the first lady’s office is not simply ceremonial but a highly structured operation that must be ready on day one. Security briefings also begin immediately as the first lady becomes a public symbol overnight. 

A quieter tradition is the handoff between outgoing and incoming first ladies.

“There’s usually a formal visit and exchange between the two—almost like chiefs of state,” Borrelli says. Staff-to-staff briefings often follow, she adds, depending on personalities and politics.

If the transition period is busy, Inauguration Day is a sprint.

“Move-in day is a flurry of activity inside the White House,” Brower explains. “The world is focused on the incoming president's swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, all while the White House staff works diligently to seamlessly move one president and his family out and another in.”

Some outgoing families make things easier by moving items out early. Others stay until the last minute. “There's a lot of coordination between the incoming first lady's social secretary and the chief usher at the White House in terms of what they are moving in and when,” Brower says. And, she adds, the 100-person residence staff has just five hours to complete the move. 

“It happens after the president and first lady have the church service with the incoming president and first lady, and then after they all have tea at the White House," she explains. "This is when the motorcade leaves and the fun begins."

The first lady is one of the administration’s most visible diplomatic figures and her office coordinates with the State Department, Office of Protocol and foreign delegations almost immediately. 

Though first ladies' platforms often reflect traditional ideas about women’s roles—children, health, education and beautification—the underlying work is far more substantial.

Borrelli emphasizes that Jacqueline Kennedy’s restoration of the White House was also “urban planning” and Lady Bird Johnson’s beautification efforts included “rat control in D.C.,” a project no one wanted publicly associated with the first lady. Michelle Obama’s garden and nutrition work, she says, were also “food and agricultural policy.”

"From Eleanor Roosevelt to Betty Ford and Michelle Obama, the most successful first ladies have been unapologetically themselves," says Brower. "They have championed platforms that complement their husband's legislative priorities, and they have served as sources of national comfort during difficult times. The best modern example of that is Laura Bush when she comforted the country after 9/11."

“There is nothing in the Constitution that describes what a first lady's job is and there is no pay,” Brower stresses. “So each woman handles the outsized scrutiny the best she can,” based on advice from each other and their own values or interests.

”For first ladies,” Borrelli says, “public and private are never distinct.”