He served as a president of the United States's advisor

Washington gained national notoriety, notably among politicians, as a result of his work at the Tuskegee Institute and his impact as a speaker and writer. Presidents William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt consulted him, and he also welcomed President William McKinley to Tuskegee for a visit.

Washington was one of the first African Americans to attend a presidential dinner as an official guest after accepting President Roosevelt's offer in 1901. African-Americans had previously been invited to meetings at the White House by several earlier presidents, but never to a supper. Segregation was also made legal in 1901.

The story of the meal between the president of the United States and a former slave spread across the country. It changed the national dialogue on race at the time and was the focus of divisive essays and cartoons. White southerners were outraged upon learning of the dinner invitation, The History Channel reports, with one Memphis newspaper calling it "the most damnable offense which has ever been done by any citizen of the United States."

After receiving criticism, the Roosevelt administration changed their story, claiming that the dinner never happened or that it had been a casual lunch with no members of the Roosevelt family in attendance. Additionally, it was almost thirty years before another African American was invited to supper at the White House.