First Lady: Secret Service Taught Daughter Malia How to Drive

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First lady Michelle Obama tells TV host Rachael Ray in a program airing nationwide today that her teen daughter Malia learned how to drive with lessons from the Secret Service.

The program, which airs Thursday at 10 a.m. on ABC affiliate WJLA in the D.C. metro area, features the first lady talking with Ray, a popular chef and TV host. The program was taped at the White House Monday during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

Ray asks: “I heard Malia has her license, is that true? Who taught her?”

The first lady answers: “She is a driver, a licensed driver. The Secret Service actually; they wouldn’t let me in the car with her.”

Members of the Secret Service protect the first family.

“Driving for her, it gives her a sense of normalcy, like the rest of her friends are doing,” the first lady said. “My kids have got to learn how to live in the world, like normal kids. My hope is that they come out of this as functioning adults.”

It’s uncertain whether Malia Obama, 16, has a permit or a license. Here are the rules of the road, straight from the D.C. DMV:

The minimum age requirements to begin each phase of the Washington, D.C. GRAD program are as follows:

• Learner’s permit: 16 years old.
• Provisional license: 16 1/2 years old.
• Full driver’s license with conditions: 17 years old.

Several news outlets reported that Malia received a car on her Sweet 16 birthday last year on the 4th of July. No word on the car’s make or model.

PHOTOS: Screen shots from “Rachael Ray Show” promotional video.