Donald Trump’s aides and staffers have been strongly advised not to drink with lawmakers in Washington D.C, according to a report.
Staffers within the White House legislative affairs office, particularly in external-facing roles, have been “strongly discouraged” from consuming alcohol with members of Congress, according to Politico’s West Wing Playbook, citing two anonymous sources with knowledge of the decision.
“We strongly urged everyone in the legislative affairs office and everyone who’s externally facing to be thoughtful about their alcohol use in public, and specifically with members,” one of the sources told the outlet. “We strongly discouraged drinking with members.”
“It’s a free country, but we represent the White House and the president and that’s best done sober,” the second source added.
The decision, which was communicated to staffers verbally, marks a departure from the previous Biden administration and Trump’s first, where no such rule was in place.
The nation’s capital is notoriously boozy, and leadership expects staffers to socialize —but they should do it sober. “Is one drink a fireable offense? We’ll have to see what happens,” the source told the outlet.
An anonymous former Trump White House staffer who worked on the Office of Legislative Affairs team, which operates as a liaison between Congress and the White House, told Politico that they only recalled informal reminders about responsible drinking “after a few occasions where people had too much to drink” during his first administration.
The outlet said it was unclear how many staffers would be affected by the new guidance.
Trump, like Joe Biden, is famously tee-total and toasted with Diet Coke at the inaugural luncheon.
The reason why Trump avoids alcohol is because of his older brother Freddy, an alcoholic who died at the age of 43 in 1981.
“I had a brother who was a great guy...but he had an alcohol problem,” Trump said on the campaign trail in October 2024. “He would always tell me, ‘no drinking under any circumstances,’ because he had a problem. It’s a hard problem to cure and I’ve never had a glass because of him.”
Trump added: “I think I have the type of personality where I probably would have a problem.”
