A new security detail reported for duty Friday at the White House.
After President Obama held his annual year-end press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room, press secretary Josh Earnest made an unannounced appearance alongside R2-D2 and two Stormtroopers, iconic characters from the “Star Wars” movie franchise.
The characters were at the White House as part of the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” screening for Gold Star families and children as part of the Joining Forces initiative.
“This is pretty cool, isn’t it? You gotta admit, this is pretty cool,” Earnest said, according to a pool report.
Journalists in attendance joked that this helps clear up the debate on what side of the Force the administration stands on. Obama ended his press conference by telling reporters trying to ask more questions, “I gotta get to ‘Star Wars,'” before he walked out.
House Speaker Paul Ryan also provided his opinion on whether the White House has succumbed to the dark side in a statement released on the year-long spending bill the House passed Friday.
“President Obama promised reform, but signed that omnibus — and those 9,000 earmarks — into law,” Ryan wrote in the statement about Obama’s signing of the 2009 omnibus spending bill. “Then, the Empire was challenged.”
