Pool Reports of July 7, 2022

White House In-town pool report 1, July 7 – Checking in

Good afternoon from the White House, where today POTUS will award the Medal of Freedom to 17 people, with a list that includes Simone Biles, Denzel Washington, and John McCain (posthumously).

Your pooler ran into McCain's former Senate colleague Joe Lieberman at covid testing. He said his book on centrism is doing well, but it might have done better if he took either a left or a right position.

Only other item on the public schedule is a KJP briefing afterward.

White House In-town pool report 2, July 7 - gathering

Pool is gathering for the event, which is being held in the East Room, and where honorees and guests have already begun celebrating.

WH in town pool report 3 - attendees

Pool is waiting in a packed East Room.

Spotted were Hunter Biden up front and wife Melissa Cohen, Sens. Mark Kelly and Chris Coons, Liz Cheney, cabinet members, Ben Crump. Lieberman chatted separately with Cheney, Hunter and Melissa Cohen.

Event is widely streamed.

From the WH:

Present for the ceremony are approximately 250 attendees, including 16 Medal of Freedom recipients and their guests, Members of Congress, and members of the administration.

Also in attendance:

The Vice President and the Second Gentleman
Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas
Administrator of the Small Business Administration Guzman

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, established in 1963 by President Kennedy, is the nation's highest civilian award. It is awarded to individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." The President has selected the following seventeen recipients to receive the award this year:

Simone Biles

Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history, with a combined total of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. Biles is also a prominent advocate for athletes' mental health and safety, children in the foster care system, and victims of sexual assault.

Sister Simone Campbell

Sister Simone Campbell is a member of the Sisters of Social Service and former Executive Director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is also a prominent advocate for economic justice, immigration reform, and healthcare policy.

Julieta García

Dr. Julieta García is the former president of The University of Texas at Brownsville, where she was named one of Time magazine's best college presidents. Dr. García was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president and dedicated her career to serving students from the Southwest Border region.

Gabrielle Giffords

Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate, serving first in the Arizona legislature and later in the U.S. Congress. A survivor of gun violence, she co-founded Giffords, a nonprofit organization dedicated to gun violence prevention.

Fred Gray

Fred Gray was one of the first black members of the Alabama State legislature since Reconstruction. As an attorney, he represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP, and Martin Luther King, who called him "the chief counsel for the protest movement."

Steve Jobs (posthumous)

Steve Jobs (d. 2011) was the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple, Inc., CEO of Pixar and held a leading role at the Walt Disney Company. His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries.

Father Alexander Karloutsos

Father Alexander Karloutsos is the former Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. After over 50 years as a priest, providing counsel to several U.S. presidents, he was named by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Khizr Khan

Khizr Khan is a Gold Star father and founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center. He is a prominent advocate for the rule of law and religious freedom and served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom under President Biden.

Sandra Lindsay

Sandra Lindsay is a New York critical care nurse who served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response. She was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials and is a prominent advocate for vaccines and mental health for health care workers.

John McCain (posthumous)

John McCain (d. 2018) was a public servant who was awarded a Purple Heart with one gold star for his service in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. He also served the people of Arizona for decades in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008.

Diane Nash

Diane Nash is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who organized some of the most important civil rights campaigns of the 20th century. Nash worked closely with Martin Luther King, who described her as the "driving spirit in the nonviolent assault on segregation at lunch counters."

Megan Rapinoe

Megan Rapinoe is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women's World Cup champion. She also captains OL Reign in the National Women's Soccer League. She is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice, and LGBTQI+ rights.

Alan Simpson

Alan Simpson served as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming for 18 years. During his public service, he has been a prominent advocate on issues including campaign finance reform, responsible governance, and marriage equality.

Richard Trumka (posthumous)

Richard Trumka (d. 2021) was president of the 12.5-million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade, president of the United Mine Workers, and secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. Throughout his career, he was an outspoken advocate for social and economic justice.

Wilma Vaught

Brigadier General Wilma Vaught is one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military, repeatedly breaking gender barriers as she rose through the ranks. When she retired in 1985, she was one of only seven women generals in the Armed Forces.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is an actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, and the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also served as National Spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years.

Raúl Yzaguirre

Raúl Yzaguirre is a civil rights advocate who served as CEO and president of National Council of La Raza for thirty years. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic under President Barack Obama.

WH in town pool report 4 - remarks begin

Potus began speaking about 2:25.

Pool notes regrettably actor Denzel Washington was not among those who came out.

A WH official said he was unable to attend.

White House in-town pool report 5 - briefing

For those watching the clock as the ceremony begins, WH says the briefing will start following its conclusion.

White House in-town pool report 6

Potus is continuing his remarks, now going through posthumous awardees.

When he honored Denzel Washington, he called him "A man who couldn't be here today but wanted to be." He said Washington will be honored at a later date.

A WH official confirms COVID result is the reason.

White House in-town pool report 7 - Potus wraps, 2 mins

Potus spoke for about 50 minutes.

"This is America," he said after giving out the last award.

Recipients including Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe, and former Sen. Alan Simpson each grinned while getting their medals.

Simpson used a walker to approach POTUS, who then placed the medal around his neck. "He's a great hugger,' Simpson dead-panned.

When it was done, members of the crowd broke out into song as the military combo positioned outside the room played a rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

Pool asked the White House for additional details on the Denzel Washington situation, but received none. His rep has confirmed to your pooler that he tested positive for covid.

2 minute warning on briefing.

White House in-town pool report 8 - briefing ends

Karine Jean-Pierre ended the briefing at 4:24, after about 40 minutes.

White House in-town pool report 9 - LID

We have a lid.

Thanks all!