Biden will be joined by a National Guard family in honor of the National Guard’s role in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, a statement from her office said Saturday. The presence of the National Guard family also honors all the Guard families spending their holidays away from loved ones.
This year’s National Guard family includes Capt. Maryanne V. Harrell, who serves as the unit commander for the District of Columbia Army National Guard Medical Detachment, her husband Levi, and their children Levi II, Marcus and Elliana.
The Harrell family previously joined the first lady for the arrival of the official 2021 White House Christmas tree on Monday.
Biden also invited Elliana’s second-grade class from Malcolm Elementary School in Waldorf, Maryland, to the White House to help the first lady unveil the 2021 decorations, the statement from her office said.
The first lady will deliver remarks “thanking the over 100 volunteers from the local area who helped decorate the White House” as she reveals the holiday theme, her office said.
Biden kicked off the annual tradition of decking the White House halls on Monday by receiving the White House Christmas tree — an 18.5-foot Fraser fir from North Carolina that was placed in the oval-shaped Blue Room of the White House.
Last year, the White House was decorated with an “America the Beautiful” theme and featured classic holiday decor along with ornaments celebrating frontline workers for the former first family Donald Trump and Melania Trump’s last Christmas in office.
