Aide in US State dinner gaffe to step down

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers, a close personal friend of US First Lady Michelle Obama and one of President Barack Obama's first appointees, will step down in March to pursue new opportunities, numerous reports have said.

Rogers received criticism, and calls for her resignation, from many quarters after Virginia couple Tareq and Michaele Salahi successfully crashed a November 24, 2009 State dinner at the White House honouring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Carlos Allen, a Washington DC-area entrepreneur, also managed to enter the event uninvited.

Though the Secret Service ultimately took the blame for the failure, it has been reported that the Salahis spoke personally to Rogers before gaining entrance. 

News of the security breach spread online after Michaele posted pictures of the couple meeting various VVIPs at the dinner on her Facebook account.

While most female guests wore traditional cocktail dresses, Michaele wore a gold and red lehenga-style sari and choli to the event.

Despite the breach, the Secret Service maintains that Dr Singh and other high-profile guests were never at risk of physical danger, as the Salahis and Allen still were required to pass through two levels of security checks.