WASHINGTON—The East Room was reserved Tuesday for what White House staff called a "viewing reception." There was no Marine Band. There was no podium. There was only a large takeout order from the Cheesecake Factory, placed as Democratic control of both chambers of Congress became a mathematical certainty.
The order was described internally as an ode to former President Barack Obama's remark that White House decorations looked like "Saddam Hussein decorated a Cheesecake Factory." Two aides said the dinner included 47 orders of avocado egg rolls and 31 slices of Linda's Fudge Cake. The total was $4,212.73. The Senate flipped at approximately 9:42 p.m. The brown bread arrived warm.
Little Diaper Donnie was not present for the initial seating, according to two people familiar with the evening. He was in the residence reviewing exit polls and asking aides why nobody had told him the vibe was off. The former president did not join the reception. He did ask that the leftovers be sent upstairs.
The order was approved by a newly formed White House Dining Response Task Force. A memo from Tuesday at 4:10 p.m. described the Cheesecake Factory as "the only appropriate venue-adjacent response to the Obama decor critique." The task force did not explain why the response was needed on the same night the House and Senate were changing hands.
The Cheesecake Factory selection was the latest in a series of symbolic dinner orders. A previous event featured a single Bloomin' Onion from Outback Steakhouse after a foreign leader compared the Cabinet Room to a Florida airport shuttle lounge. The task force called that response "effective but greasy."
A deputy communications official defended the evening. "The president wanted a calm, familiar meal while he processed the evening's numbers," she said. "This was not a watch party. It was a viewing reception with a curated menu. The distinction matters to us." She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the chain of command's chain-restaurant order.
The official confirmed that no one had briefed the president on the possibility that the Cheesecake Factory joke would not hold up against a collapsing economy, rising gas prices, and a war he had recently started. She declined to say whether the meal was expensed to the White House Mess or the Republican National Committee.
By midnight, Democrats had won the House 236 to 199 and taken the Senate 51 to 49. The official White House readout did not mention the election results. It described the evening as "a constructive opportunity to review the president's recent accomplishments over a shared meal." It did not list the accomplishments.
Outside the White House, a family of four ordering the same meal would now pay roughly $83 before tip. The chain restaurant is located in areas where nearby home values are 27 percent higher than comparable zip codes without one, according to one industry study. The cost of the meal has risen 11 percent in the past year.
The Cheesecake Factory did not respond to a request for comment. A follow-up call to the White House press office was answered, placed on hold, and then connected to the restaurant's catering line. The hold music was the Marine Band playing "Hail to the Chief" for a to-go order.
