White House staffers responsible for recruiting political appointees played a drinking game in their office in January, during which they “Iced” their deputy director, according to a report Friday.
“Icing” involves hiding a bottle of Smirnoff Ice and calling for the person who finds it, in this case the deputy director, to chug it.
The drinking game took place at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and was in celebration of the Presidential Personnel Office deputy director’s 30th birthday, the Washington Post reports.
The White House confirmed to the Washington Post that the PPO played the game, but said it and other office happy hours aren’t only happening among PPO staff and are a way for employees to let off steam and network.
The Post report detailed the shortcomings of the PPO and said the office has become a social gathering spot for young staffers who often stop by to lay on couches and smoke e-cigarettes.
The PPO is responsible for the vetting and selecting process for presidential appointees as well as thousands of other government jobs.
White House officials told the Post that the PPO is performing well, while acknowledging that the office “is a much smaller PPO than at any time in recent history.”
