Hillary Clinton returns to the White House for an arts event next week

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to make a rare public appearance at the White House since losing her bid for president in 2016, attending an arts event next week with the first lady Jill Biden.

The White House announced Clinton was scheduled to appear on Tuesday to help honor the 2023 recipients of the Praemium Imperiale, a global award given annually by the Japan Art Association for lifetime achievement in the arts.

Praemium Imperiale recipients were first celebrated at the White House by President Bill Clinton and the then First Lady in 1994.

Bill Clinton had lunch with Biden at the White House in May 2022, a month after former President Barack Obama returned to the White House for the first time since the end of his administration for an event celebrating his landmark Care Act health.

Hillary Clinton, a former New York senator who served as Obama’s secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, has kept a relatively low profile with the public since losing the presidency to Donald Trump.

The White House announcement means next Tuesday’s event is set to go ahead despite the first lady testing positive for COVID on Monday. She is recovering in Delaware and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that “the First Lady is doing well.”

Jean-Pierre said the president tested negative for COVID on Wednesday morning, after testing negative the previous two days. He is due to leave for India on Thursday to attend the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, then travel to Vietnam and Alaska.