Take Out The Trash Day
C.J. Cregg races to shape the White House storybook — shepherding a grieving family, quashing damaging leaks, and deciding whether to release a contentious sex‑education report — while staffers bargain to protect Leo McGarry's career and the President's agenda.
Energy crackles from the first page as C.J. Cregg carries the late briefing and trades barbed, precise banter with reporters and colleagues while the West Wing tumbles into multiple crises. The episode opens with small, telling details — C.J. deadpans about the President "dotting the I and crossing the T's" with 15 pens, Danny delights in the minutiae, and Mandy warns C.J. she met the Lydells in their kitchen. Those domestic moments swell into political consequence: Jonathan and Jennifer Lydell, parents of a gay son murdered in Minnesota, are slated to appear at the President's hate‑crimes signing, but Mandy reports that Jonathan is withdrawn and potentially hostile — a human complication that could upend the planned photo‑op.
Meanwhile, staffers confront institutional and personal storms. A government‑commissioned sex‑education report lands on desks and makes one thing brutally clear: abstinence‑only instruction fails to prevent teenage sex and withholding information endangers teenagers; the report recommends an "abstinence plus" approach. C.J. reads the findings with growing alarm; Toby and others argue for the public interest. But political reality bites. Leo, Josh and Sam scramble under threat of House hearings after a Claypool deposition and Congressman Bruno hints that a hearing about alleged staff drug use will be unavoidable unless the White House placates the Hill. Josh and Sam negotiate a deal: if the White House shelves the incendiary sex‑ed findings until after the midterms, Bruno will withhold hearings that could drag Leo — and the administration — through months of damaging spectacle.
Tensions between truth and expediency crystallize in the Oval. Bartlet opts to bury the report for now, telling C.J. to "throw it out with the trash" and prioritize getting Leo out from under the threat of investigation so the President can keep a fragile legislative and confirmation agenda moving. C.J. resists on principle — she argues the White House commissioned respected doctors and owes the public the findings — but she ultimately accepts the trade to protect Leo and the larger presidency, a choice that exposes the moral arithmetic at the heart of governing.
Leak stories and petty scandals provide the episode's other, sharper edges. An advance man for the Vice‑President, Chad Magrudian, grabbed a Navy helicopter to play Pebble Beach; reporters sniff out the tale. Karen Larson, a quiet young aide who worked for Hoynes, becomes the pivot of the leak investigation. Sam confronts Karen, and she admits — with trembling realization — that she passed Leo McGarry's personnel file to the Claypool family. Her motive proves tangled with loyalty and family ties rather than malice. Sam orders her escorted out; security prepares to remove her.
Simon Blye, a wary political operator and friend, delivers a new blow to Leo: a forthcoming Post op‑ed calling for Leo's resignation. Simon presses Leo to step down for the good of the party; Leo refuses, furious and wounded by the betrayal. The personal stakes land hard. The script propels Leo into an intimate, redemptive conversation with Karen late at night. He tells her, plainly and painfully, about his own father, the suicide he witnessed, and his lifelong struggle with addiction: "I drank and took drugs because I'm a drug addict and an alcoholic." Instead of a spectacle, the leak becomes an occasion for human reckoning — Leo neither condemns Karen with webbing bureaucratic fury nor tolerates betrayal without consequence. He fires her officially but then meets her privately, offers understanding and a second chance, and sends her back to unpack her box: a moment of forgiveness that counterpoints the episode's harder political compromises.
C.J.'s arc threads through all of this. She juggles Danny's flirtatious persistence — a recurring, human counterpoint that keeps her grounded — and her duty to manage the press corps' appetite for sensationalism. She confronts the Lydells with blunt, careful questions; Jonathan lashes out unexpectedly, railing beyond the grief the team expected and complicating the administration's ability to script the event. Mandy warns C.J. to send them home; C.J. decides instead to let truth and the father's anger stand. By night's end, the Lydells withdraw from the signing, and C.J. reports to the nation: Chad has resigned, the CPB nominees will be confirmed, and the Lydells cannot attend — small, tidy headlines stitched over messy human lives.
Thematically, the episode hammers at the collision between moral clarity and political necessity. Staffers choose tactical concealment to avert a hearing that would cripple policy momentum; C.J. compromises to preserve Leo and the President's agenda even as she winces at silencing expert knowledge on adolescent health. Leo's private confession and his mercy toward Karen reveal personal accountability beneath political maneuvering. The Washington machine hums — urgent, pragmatic, sometimes brutal — but occasional acts of honesty and forgiveness pierce the calculus.
By the final fade, discrete plots resolve in realistic, partial ways: hearings get averted, a midlevel aide resigns, a report gets shelved until after the midterms, and a grieving father's anger removes the human symbol the White House hoped to showcase. The staff survives another day; the presidency survives a set of storms; but the episode leaves the audience with an uneasy understanding: governing demands kompromat between truth and power, and protecting people sometimes requires throwing away the stories that should have been told.
Evidence anchors the summary: the sex‑ed report language that "teaching abstinence only doesn't work," Josh and Sam's Hill negotiation with Bruno, Simon Blye's op‑ed threat, Karen Larson's confession and Leo's recounting of his father's suicide, and C.J.'s televised briefing where she announces the Lydells' absence and Chad Magrudian's resignation. Those concrete beats keep the episode anchored even as it wrestles with broader questions about responsibility, loyalty and the costs of public life.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The West Wing's frantic pace immediately engulfs C.J. Cregg, thrusting her into a late-night press briefing where she deftly parries reporters' questions about the President's pen-signing ceremony and the Lydell family's attendance at a hate-crimes bill signing. Mandy, the President's political consultant, pulls C.J. aside, her face etched with concern, revealing the Lydells' father is withdrawn and potentially hostile, a human complication threatening the carefully orchestrated photo-op. Simultaneously, Josh Lyman drops a bombshell: a government-commissioned sex-education report lands on C.J.'s desk, its findings starkly contradicting abstinence-only policies, recommending an 'abstinence plus' approach. The report's incendiary nature immediately signals a looming political battle. The concept of 'Take Out The Trash Day' emerges, a cynical but pragmatic strategy to bury inconvenient stories on Fridays when public attention wanes. As the White House machine whirs, Danny Concannon, a persistent reporter, reveals a leak: a Vice President's advance man used a Navy helicopter for a golf trip, a minor scandal that hints at deeper internal issues. Toby Ziegler and Sam Seaborn grapple with a potential scandal involving Zoey Bartlet's controversial sociology professor. The true gravity of the situation crystallizes as Leo McGarry, the Chief of Staff, confronts Josh and Sam about an impending House hearing regarding his own past struggles with alcohol and drugs. The episode's initial beats establish a landscape of converging crises, each demanding immediate attention and threatening to derail the administration's agenda, setting the stage for difficult choices and moral compromises.
C.J. runs a tightly controlled late press briefing when routine questions fracture her script: reporters press whether the Lydell parents will appear at the hate‑crime bill signing, and C.J. guarantees …
After a strained late-night briefing and Mandy's warning about the Lydells, Josh cold‑drops a commissioned sex‑education report on C.J.'s desk that directly contradicts the administration's abstinence‑only bargain. The study labels …
Danny drops by C.J.'s office under the familiar cover of flirtation, pressing her for dinner while she tries to hide behind urgent work — notably a volatile sex‑education report. Their …
Danny arrives in C.J.'s office with their flirtatious, charged banter still dangling between them. The mood flips when Danny drops a news bomb: an advance man for the Vice President …
A small, comic exchange humanizes Josh and Donna while quietly hauling exposition. Carol brings food; Donna teases that Josh likes his hamburger beyond well-done—burnt—confirming a fastidious, almost ritualistic preference. Josh …
A quiet, telling bullpen exchange turns into a miniature lesson in political triage. While collecting Josh's obsessively burnt hamburger, Donna asks about "Take Out the Trash Day," and Josh bluntly …
Sam sidles into Toby's office with a jokey Alabama Ten Commandments opener but quickly flags a more dangerous item: a Georgetown Hoya piece alleging a sociology professor is teaching inflammatory …
Sam's light, conversational intrusion about an Alabama town and a Georgetown Hoya item — including the revelation that Zoey is in a controversial sociology class — is playing out in …
A casual office moment explodes into a political calculation: Leo learns a contentious sex‑education report has arrived on the eve of a high‑profile hate‑crimes bill signing. Toby immediately objects on …
Josh reveals he's heading to a meeting with Congressman Bruno to head off an appropriation‑level threat — a gambit that immediately becomes personal when Leo learns the hearing targets his …
The pressure intensifies as the White House team scrambles to contain the burgeoning crises. Josh, Toby, and Sam identify Karen Larsen, an aide with high FBI clearance, as the likely leaker of the Chad Magrudian helicopter story, suspecting a deeper motive. Sam receives the unenviable task of confronting her. In the Oval Office, President Bartlet, despite his jovial banter about bananas, reveals his sharp political calculus. He expresses deep concern over Jonathan Lydell's potential embarrassment about his son's homosexuality, fearing it could undermine the hate-crimes bill signing. Bartlet instructs C.J. to carefully manage the Lydells, underscoring the administration's need to control the narrative, even at the cost of genuine emotion. C.J. pushes back, questioning the President's priorities, but ultimately accepts the directive. Crucially, Bartlet pulls Josh and Sam aside, explicitly ordering them to prevent the House hearings on Leo's past, giving them a clear mandate to negotiate whatever deal necessary. This moment solidifies the President's unwavering loyalty to Leo and his readiness to engage in political horse-trading. The act reaches a dramatic peak as Leo meets with his long-time friend, Simon Blye. Simon, under the guise of friendship, delivers a brutal blow: a forthcoming Post op-ed calling for Leo's resignation for the good of the party. Leo, wounded and furious, lashes out, accusing Simon of opportunism and betraying their friendship. This personal betrayal underscores the cutthroat nature of Washington politics, where even alliances can fracture under pressure, leaving Leo isolated and exposed.
A tense, shifting beat: female staffers cluster in the Outer Oval trading anxious, half‑formed gossip until Mrs. Landingham brusquely halts them, reasserting dignity and shutting down rumor. The mood immediately …
After a chastening reprimand for gossip, Donna drags Josh and Sam into a private corner and names the story's context: Chad Magrudian, the Vice President's advance man who misused a …
In C.J.'s office, Toby raises the Chad Magrudian helicopter item and a new problem with Zoey's sociology class, forcing quick triage of two potentially toxic stories. When C.J. reveals Danny …
In C.J.'s office Toby delivers two quiet, destabilizing items: a minor scandal about an aide's helicopter golf trip (already in the press) and a potentially explosive classroom issue involving the …
President Bartlet abruptly ends Leo's granular banana briefing and immediately imposes a faster political tempo: he redirects attention to stalled CPB nominations, charges Toby and his team to break the …
In the Outer Oval, Bartlet imposes a brisk political tempo and parcels out damage control: C.J. is told to sit with the grieving Lydells — with explicit worry that an …
In the Outer Oval, a light, policy‑laden meeting quickly hardens into an explicit presidential defense. Bartlet interrupts routine briefings to quietly order Josh and Sam to stop any House hearings …
C.J. stops at Danny's desk in the press room to test whether their conversation is truly off the record, but the exchange quickly becomes a battleground of boundaries. Danny flirts …
C.J. uses a tense, semi-private exchange with Danny to vent moral outrage about a grieving father’s hypocrisy while simultaneously trying to keep the White House story on a leash. Their …
The political maneuvering reaches its climax as Josh and Sam face Congressman Bruno on Capitol Hill. Bruno, a shrewd operator, lays out his terms: the White House must shelve the controversial sex-education report until after the midterms in exchange for averting the damaging hearings on Leo McGarry. He dismisses their protests of innocence, bluntly stating that the hearings' spectacle, regardless of findings, would cripple the administration. This presents a stark moral dilemma: protect Leo and the President's legislative agenda by suppressing vital public health information. Bruno's offer forces the White House to choose between truth and expediency, a choice with profound implications. Meanwhile, in the Oval Office, President Bartlet reviews the sex-ed report himself, his silent, uncomfortable scribbles on the document revealing his internal struggle with its findings, particularly the explicit language. This personal engagement with the report foreshadows his eventual decision. The act's emotional core resonates in the Mural Room, where C.J. and Mandy meet with Jonathan and Jennifer Lydell. C.J., attempting to gauge their support, is met with an unexpected, raw outburst from Mr. Lydell. He passionately condemns the President's 'weak-ass position' on gay rights, railing against the administration's perceived hypocrisy and his government's embarrassment over his son's sexuality. His grief and anger shatter the White House's carefully constructed narrative, exposing the human cost of political calculation. Mandy immediately pushes to send the Lydells home, but C.J., visibly moved by Mr. Lydell's truth, resists, recognizing his right to speak his mind. This moment marks a critical shift in C.J.'s perspective, as she grapples with the tension between her duty to the administration and her personal sense of justice. Ultimately, she accepts the difficult task of telling the Lydells they cannot participate, a painful compromise.
Simon Blye — a long-time friend whose loyalty is ambiguous — is ushered into Leo's office for a private meeting. The exchange is courteous on the surface but taut with …
Simon Blye arrives under the guise of an old friend and the scene opens with easy, practiced pleasantries. Their cordial banter — talk of Meredith and the house — thinly …
Simon visits Leo to deliver a cold political calculation: a Congressional hearing is inevitable and will dredge up episodes of alcohol and pill use — and an op‑ed calling for …
In Leo's office Simon delivers a cold political ultimatum: hearings are inevitable and Leo should resign for the good of the party. Leo refuses to be lectured, quickly exposes Simon's …
The consequences of the political deals and personal confrontations unfold, bringing the episode to its uneasy resolution. Toby Ziegler, oblivious to the moral cost, celebrates with C.J. the 'good news' that Josh and Sam successfully cut a deal, saving Leo from the impending hearings. This brief moment of triumph for Toby underscores the White House's focus on pragmatic outcomes. Simultaneously, Sam confronts Karen Larson, who, with trembling realization, confesses to leaking Leo McGarry's personnel file. Her motive, however, is not malice but a tangled web of loyalty and family ties, as Mr. Claypool, a family friend, sought the information. Sam, despite his initial fury, orders her removal but hints at understanding. The core moral compromise crystallizes in the Oval Office: President Bartlet, after a brief, snippy exchange with Mrs. Landingham, explicitly orders C.J. to 'throw out' the sex-education report with the trash, confirming it as the price for protecting Leo. C.J. resists on principle, passionately arguing for the public's right to the expert findings, but ultimately accepts the painful trade-off, recognizing the larger stakes of preserving Leo and the President's agenda. The episode then pivots to a moment of profound personal redemption: Leo McGarry meets privately with Karen Larson. He shares the raw, painful story of his father's suicide and his own lifelong struggle with addiction, revealing a vulnerability rarely seen. He explains that he drinks because he is an alcoholic, not cured but in constant recovery. Instead of bureaucratic fury, Leo offers Karen understanding and a second chance, sending her back to unpack her box. This act of forgiveness stands in stark contrast to the political compromises elsewhere. The episode concludes with C.J. delivering the official White House briefing, meticulously crafting a narrative that announces Chad Magrudian's resignation, the CPB nominees' confirmation, and the Lydells' absence due to 'family business,' carefully omitting the messy truths beneath the surface. The White House survives another day, but the audience is left with a stark understanding of the moral arithmetic inherent in governing.
In the Roosevelt Room Toby mounts a blunt, fact-heavy rebuttal to congressional aides accusing PBS of serving "rich people," turning cultural argument into cold demographics. His recital of income, race …
In the Roosevelt Room Toby mounts a calm, data-driven defense of PBS against congressional aides, insisting the network serves broad socioeconomic groups. Mid‑rebuttal, C.J. is notified that the grieving Lydell …
At a White House meet-and-greet intended to show the administration's solidarity, grieving father Jonathan Lydell explodes — condemning the President for a perceived moral failure on gay rights and exposing …
After Jonathan Lydell explodes at a White House meet-and-greet, C.J. and Mandy withdraw to the hallway to fight over damage control. Mandy urges a pragmatic silencing and immediate removal of …
In the Roosevelt Room Toby spars with congressional aides who reduce PBS to Nielsen diaries, licensing revenue and executive pay — shorthand arguments for cutting public media. He refuses the …
During a heated Roosevelt Room confrontation over PBS funding and cultural priorities, C.J. slips in with game-changing political news: Josh and Sam have negotiated with Hill allies to avert congressional …
A brief, domestic spat with Mrs. Landingham — who denies the President a banana because he was 'snippy' earlier — slides immediately into a consequential Oval Office decision. The playful …
President Bartlet orders the White House to suppress a contentious sex‑education report — shelving it until after the midterm elections — in order to protect Chief of Staff Leo McGarry …
In Leo's dim office at night Karen Larsen arrives with her personal box after being outed as the source of a leak. Leo deliberately creates a private, nonpunitive space and …
Alone in Leo's office at night, Leo forces a private reckoning with Karen, the staffer who leaked his personnel file. He pushes her to say what she thought when she …
Leo quietly confronts the woman who leaked his personnel file, forcing a tender, blunt conversation that pulls the leak's politics into intensely personal territory. He discloses his father's suicide and …