The Biden White House will start paying its interns in what officials said is a bid to diversify the ranks of young talent and help them afford high living expenses in the nation’s capital.
Starting this fall, interns will be paid $750 per week. They are expected to work at least 35 hours each week.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris know that for too long and too often, unpaid federal internships have been a barrier to hardworking and talented students and professionals, preventing many of them from contributing their talents and skills to the country,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday. “Paying White House interns will help ensure that those who receive internships at the White House reflect the diversity of America.”
Living expenses in the D.C. area can range from $350 a week for intern housing to a couple of thousand dollars a month, according to National Public Radio, and that doesn’t include food and transportation.
A funding bill that Mr. Biden signed in March allocated $4.5 million toward the intern pay.
Capitol Hill started to pay its interns five years ago, but Pay Our Interns, a nonprofit, said racial and ethnic gaps in these positions persist.
White House interns must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old.
They must be enrolled in college or a recent graduate, or a veteran of the armed forces who earned a high school diploma or its equivalent and served on active duty, for any length of time, no more than two years prior to the first day of the internship.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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