# Federal workers: change of secretary's portrait with new administration? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548 "2007-04-25T01:41:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/1 "2007-04-25T01:41:53Z")
I saw the movie “Breach” last night, and there is a scene where the Clinton and Reno portraits are simultaneously replaced by the Bush and Ashcroft portraits. However, Ashcroft was not confirmed until [February](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney_General) . Were the portraits of new cabinet secretaries hung while they were still nominees, or was the wall next to Bush empty for a period of time, or were the old portraits of both Clinton and the secretary left in place until the new secretary was confirmed? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/2 "2007-04-25T01:50:10Z")
Bush inauguration was January 20th, Ashcroft was February 2nd, so it would only be a two week period of time. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/3 "2007-04-25T01:51:39Z")
Does the Secret Service have a huge stash of Cheney portraits in case the unthinkable happens? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/4 "2007-04-25T13:31:47Z")
In our regional office of a non-cabinet level agency, our front entrance has photos of Bush, Cheney, and our national Commissioner. We recently had a new Commissioner confirmed, and his photo went up pretty quickly thereafter. Before he was approved, some other guy was acting Commissioner. But since there was an acting commish who was running things, and whose name went on everything, it would have seemed a tad inappropriate to me to have the nominee’s photo hanging. We never have photos of acting commissioners. I’m not sure if they take down the photo of exiting Commissioners as soon as they leave, or if they wait until the next guy is confirmed. I’ll ask around and see who does the actual hanging and removal. In reality, I doubt there is any formal policy - at least not the way our office runs. I suspect it has a lot more to do with when the official portraits get sent around. But who knows? Maybe an official e-mail goes around from higher-up instructing photos of outgoing Commissioners to be removed at a certain date. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/5 "2007-04-25T19:27:34Z")
Yep - at least out here in the hinterlands, it is pretty much as I expected. There is no formal policy. Pics get taken down after an election or after a Commish/Sec leaves whenever someone thinks about it. The new ones get hung when they come in. Regarding the scene in question - I don’t recall the case with Reno, but often agency heads leave before the president leaves office. if she had, then her pic might well have been down before the inauguration. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/6 "2007-04-26T01:32:11Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Does the Secret Service have a huge stash of Cheney portraits in case the unthinkable happens? [/QUOTE] If this is a serious question, the answer is No. The Secret Service is in charge of guarding the President & VP, not hanging the portraits in government offices. I imagine the janitor would do that in most offices. And there is no need for anyone to have a huge stash on hand. A printing company could produce thousands of these overnight. Heck, a private individual like myself can go to to any number of one-hour photoshops in the vicinity. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/7 "2007-04-26T13:53:59Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] I imagine the janitor would do that in most offices. [/QUOTE] Actually, most of the federal buildings/offices of which I am aware (and I enter more than one on most workdays) are cleaned and maintained by contract employees, who would not have any part in hanging photos or anything beyond their standard janitorial/maintenance duties. Instead, my assumption is that the pictures would be hung by an administrative person. Maybe even a manager depending on how a particular office is run. They are likely simply sent to the office’s main address, and whoever hangs them depends on how that office’s mail is opened, and how basic ministerial tasks like this are handled within each office. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/8 "2009-01-23T14:25:34Z")
Bump - how soon was the new Obama portrait put up, and was it simultaneous with the incoming secretary? ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/9 "2009-01-23T14:35:12Z")
> [@dqa](#): > > Bump - how soon was the new Obama portrait put up, and was it simultaneous with the incoming secretary? Well, I work at the Department of Education HQ and I can tell you that they have already taken down the portraits of Spellings, Bush, and Cheney but they have yet to replace them. I guess it takes a few days to get all the portraits together. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/10 "2009-01-23T14:57:27Z")
> [@Cowboy8467](#): > > Well, I work at the Department of Education HQ and I can tell you that they have already taken down the portraits of Spellings, Bush, and Cheney but they have yet to replace them. I guess it takes a few days to get all the portraits together. I checked a federal office this week. Bush is down, but couldn’t spot Obama yet. No confirmed head yet, so of course no picture. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/11 "2009-01-23T15:11:23Z")
I remember that scene from _Breach_. I suspect it was Hollywood just wanting to symbolize the change in administrations, even if the timing wasn’t exactly like that. My dad was a NPS park ranger in 1960-61. When the Eisenhower portraits came down and the JFK portraits went up, he was permitted to take the Ike picture home, as it would otherwise have been thrown away. He put it up in the family bathroom, which for many years thereafter was known as “the Eisenhower Bathroom.” ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/12 "2009-01-23T15:53:48Z")
There’s still no photos at my work. They did take down the Bush pictures before we came back to work the on the 21. I’m wondering how long it will be before they get all of the photos up. We have four buildings here and all four of them had photos. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/13 "2009-01-23T15:58:50Z")
> [@dqa](#): > > Bump - how soon was the new Obama portrait put up, and was it simultaneous with the incoming secretary? Our office downloaded digital images of Obama before the inauguration and printed them. The public affairs folks replaced Bush for Obama after watching Obama take the (first) oath on TV. We make receive some “official” 8x10 glossies in the official mail in the coming weeks but we’re already good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/14 "2009-01-23T16:04:02Z")
> [@](#): > > And there is no need for anyone to have a huge stash on hand. A printing company could produce thousands of these overnight. Heck, a private individual like myself can go to to any number of one-hour photoshops in the vicinity. I work in a New York state government office. When Spitzer resigned unexpectedly, we had portraits of Paterson up within a few days. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/15 "2009-01-23T23:16:50Z")
i’m working with the census, i haven’t seen a picture of anyone (okay, family members on peoples desks, and holiday party for a bit) and i was looking to see if they had bush and commerce up. i haven’t seen everyone’s office, but it isn’t in any of the public spaces or lobby. perhaps it is in the head honchos office. they did however change the office door codes while everyone was watching the inaug. this did cause quite the hoopla. i was amused by thinking that this is so the old admin. couldn’t sneak in ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/16 "2009-02-11T15:03:03Z")
A final bump for 3 weeks since the inauguration. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/17 "2009-02-11T15:26:21Z")
I still have not seen any Obama or Biden portraits up at the Dep of Ed HQ. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/18 "2009-02-11T16:29:58Z")
None here at NOAA either, at least not in my building. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/19 "2009-05-06T13:19:25Z")
Bump again. Any developments on the presidential portrait front? ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548/20 "2009-05-06T14:47:21Z")
There are now portraits of both Arne Duncan and Obama up in the Dep of Ed headquarters. I can’t speak for any other federal buildings however. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-workers-change-of-secretarys-portrait-with-new-administration/401548.md?page=2)