Following the gift to the Coolidges of a raccoon in 1926 (soon known to history as Rebecca), the outpouring of additions to the menagerie increased dramatically, dogs, bobcats, a black bear, a pair of wallabies, a pygmy hippo (eventually named William “Billy” Johnson Hippopotamus), a duiker (the smallest known variety of antelope), and two lion cubs. The cubs, originally named “Jo” and “Hanna,” sent by the mayor of Johannesburg, South Africa, aboard the RMS Asturias, in the charge of American lumberman C. N. Deitz. They were actually one of two pairs shipped at the time, the second male and female to be presented to the Omaha Zoo, Mr. Deitz’s hometown. Having wired his acceptance of the lions to the mayor in March 1927, the President informed Wilson Jackson, the White House “keeper of the hounds,” that lions were en route to what the press called the “Pennsylvania Avenue Zoo,” Jackson was disconcerted, to say the least. The President teasingly reassured him: they were not bad lions, one of them only bit off a man’s foot because it was not firmly planted on the ground. As long as you didn’t run, Cal replied, it would be okay. Later renamed “Budget Bureau” and “Tax Reduction,” the lions like most of the offerings awarded to the Coolidges, made their way to the Rock Creek Zoo (National Zoological Park) Washington, under the care of Dr. William Mann. Coolidge visited them multiple times in the months that followed. They became part of the trend in zoo-keeping toward animal husbandry, breeding future generations from the original pairs rather than merely replacing a single animal living in isolation. The success of this trend in “Billy’s” case means that nearly all of the pygmy hippo population in the United States traces back to the first offspring of “Billy” and his mate, “Hannah,” the long line of descendants named “Gumdrop,” distinguished by their Roman numeral according to birth order. The duiker, presented to Mrs. Coolidge, soon found a home at Rock Creek as well.

As word spread of the lions, the John Robinson Circus, wintering in Ohio, inquired on May 1 whether the President would be willing to accept the service of lion trainer Iona Carlin to work with the pair. Responding two days later, President Coolidge graciously turned down the offer, writing through executive secretary Everett Sanders, “Your courteous offer to train these young lions is, of course, very much appreciated. As they have been turned over to the National Zoological Park here in Washington, the President will not be able to avail himself of your services in this connection.” As the headlines above read, and the symbolism of “Budget Bureau” and “Tax Reduction” remained, the lions would not become domesticated cats but continue “wild.” Perhaps this was a suitable metaphor for the ferocious task Coolidge and his tenacious team sustained to keep expenditures down and surpluses up for five and a half long years.