College-Age Interns Would Handle White House Chores

President Clinton’s opponents like to complain that his White House sometimes seems to be run by 19-year-olds. Today, they will be at least partly right.

As part of the shutdown of the federal government forced by the budget deadlock between the President and Congress, most of Clinton’s own staff has been deemed “nonessential” and will be taking the time off.

In their absence, much of the daily work around the President’s office will be handled by college-age interns, who work at the White House for free--and so are not affected by the budget squeeze.

“It’s nuts,” a middle-level White House aide said, “but that’s what the lawyers said we have to do.”

Press Secretary Mike McCurry said the White House staff will be reduced from 430 to about 90 because of the shutdown.

Officials checked to see if they could come in and work for free, but that turned out to be illegal.

About two dozen top presidential aides will come to work, but most of them won’t have any secretaries to answer their telephones, another official said.

Clinton himself still will have “a retinue that will help the President take and place phone calls,” McCurry said.

The Secret Service officers who guard the President are exempt from the shutdown. So is most of the staff of the National Security Council, which takes care of foreign policy and defense issues.

Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta will be at work, looking for ways to negotiate a compromise with Congress.

But the White House political office will be closed for the day. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s staff will be cut by 75%. And the press office will be reduced to McCurry, one assistant and half a dozen of those interns.

One controversial Clinton aide still may come to work, however: political consultant Dick Morris. Morris, one of the architects of Clinton’s recent embrace of a balanced budget and other conservative policies, isn’t a government employee, so he isn’t affected by the shutdown.