D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) (Mary Cheh) The gate to the White House is visible from the front steps of the John A. Wilson Building.

Yet, when Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) and council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) went to the White House on Friday afternoon to request that Obama use new license plates, instead of walking, a District employee drove them the two blocks.

Cheh and Mendelson both got into the back seat of a city hybrid vehicle about 1 p.m., arriving at a White House door about five minutes later.

In an interview before they left, Cheh defended the car ride, saying it was “more efficient” because they wanted to “avoid being followed by a trail of people,” including reporters.

But did Cheh and Mendelson also at one time have an even grander — and more secure — White House arrival planned?

((Carolyn Kaster - AP))

D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh and Chairman Phil Mendelson presented a new “taxation without representation” license plate to the Obama administration Friday, but received no guarantees that the president will place them on the presidential limousine.

In the council’s strongest challenges to President Obama to date, Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Mendelson (D) hand-delivered the new plate to David Agnew, deputy assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs, during a White House meeting.

They also gave Agnew a copy of a council resolution, approved unanimously Tuesday, demanding that Obama put the “taxation without representation” plate on the presidential limousines.

The council had the Department of Motor Vehicles print up a new license plate with the same number – 800-002 – that they say is currently used on at least one of the presidential limousines.

The D.C. Republican Committee in a vote Thursday night selected Ron Phillips, owner of a local public relations firm, to be the new chairman of the city party.

Phillips replaces the party’s former longtime chairman, Robert Kabel, who last year began serving as the city’s Republican National Committeeman.

In a statement, Phillips said he hopes to grow the local Republican Party into one that can be “a national standard bearer for a new type of urban conservative governance.”

“With our success, we’ll set an example of how urban communities can be organized to grow the ranks of the Republican Party,” Phillips said.

Phillips takes over a party that has been struggling to maintain its voice in District government and elections.

President Obama waves from the window of his vehicle as he returns from a workout at Marine Corp Base Hawaii. (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press) (Carolyn Kaster - AP) Two D.C. Council members will meet with White House officials Friday afternoon to discuss a city request that President Obama affix the District’s “taxation without representation” license plate on his presidential limousines.

Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) and council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) arranged the private meeting with the White House Intergovernmental Affairs Office, avoiding a potentially high-profile clash with Obama.

On Tuesday, the council unanimously approved an emergency resolution sponsored by Cheh demanding that Obama use the city’s symbolic and illustrious license plate.

One day after Boston’s mayor declared a public health emergency because hundreds have been sickened by the flu in that city, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Thursday there is no evidence of a flu epidemic in the District.

Speaking to reporters in the John A. Wilson Building, Gray said the D.C. Department of Health is closely tracking flu cases but has yet to see a sharp up tick in cases.

“We don’t know of an epidemic in the city at this stage,” Gray said. “There have been no suggestions we need any changes around how we are addressing it at this point.”

According to the Boston Globe, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared the emergency because that city currently has 700 confirmed flu cases and four flu-related deaths, compared to only 70 last winter.

The epidemic is straining Boston hospitals, the newspaper reported.

On Thursday, the Associated Press reported the Pennsylvania Department of Health is also battling a “widespread” flu outbreak, including 4,300 cases in the last week. At least one Pennsylvania hospital has set up a tent on its grounds to help treat large numbers of patients seeking treatment

But as of Dec. 29, the District, Hawaii and Guam were the only jurisdictions in the nation not facing “regional” or “widespread” flu outbreaks, according to the Center for Disease Control.

The District has reported 310 flu cases so far this season, compared to 97 last season.

And Gray warned that flu conditions in the District could quickly escalate, so the city is urging residents to get the flu shot. Several pharmacies, however, have run out of the vaccine.

“We want to make sure everyone who wants and needs one has the opportunity to get one,” Gray said. “We want to make sure supplies are replenished as quickly as they can be.”