Washington: Now in its second week, the partial government shutdown has taken its toll on the White House, where about 3 of 4 staffers have been furloughed, barred even from checking the BlackBerrys they usually clutch like worry beads.
Of the 1,701 advisers, assistants, number-crunchers, butlers, chefs and landscapers who work at the White House on a normal day, fewer than 450 are on duty, according to President Obama's office.
With a full array of official duties that must be carried out despite impasse with Congress, Obama's aides have strived to maintain normalcy. But the logistical gymnastics of running the federal government's nerve centre with a skeletal staff have created a sense of mild disarray at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
The staff of 90 that normally tends to the president's residence has been cut to 15.
In the West Wing, only a scaled-back menu is available at the White House mess. Trash cans are still being emptied and the bathrooms maintained, but the usual buzz of employees across the White House grounds has dipped to a quiet hum.
"The most evident impact is the lack of voices," said Josh Earnest, Obama's principle deputy press secretary. "There aren't a bunch of people yammering on the phone."
Even Obama pitched in last week as he left the White House for a visit to a nearby sandwich shop without the usual entourage of staffers who shepherd the media accompanying him. With more senior staff filling in as "wranglers", journalists ended up trailing behind him.
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