"Celestial Navigation" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of American serial political drama The West Wing. The episode depicts Josh Lyman narrating a story from the past few days to a collegiate audience, as well as the President's nominee to the Supreme Court being arrested for drunk driving. The episode was widely regarded as lighter and more humorous than other episodes of The West Wing.
At the opening of the episode, Sam Seaborn tells Josh Lyman that the President's nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States, Roberto Mendoza, has been arrested for drunk driving and resisting arrest. Sam Seaborn stresses that Mendoza doesn't drink alcohol, telling C. J. Cregg that Mendoza was arrested for "driving while being Hispanic". Sam and Toby fly to Westchester County Airport to drive to Wesley, Connecticut, where Mendoza is being held.
Josh, finishing his conversation with Sam, sits down with an interviewer at a lecture hall to speak about his time working in the White House in front of an audience. Asked to describe a typical day at the White House, he narrates a story from two days before, with flashbacks interspersed throughout. Josh begins his story with Sam, C. J., and Toby Ziegler preparing for a press conference to promote President Bartlet's new initiatives for public education. Sam and C. J. want to push the press conference to 1 pm, after a bill signing, but C. J. has a dentist appointment at noon. Sam moves the briefing anyway.
Meanwhile, the secretary for Housing and Urban Development, an African American woman, called a prominent congressman racist while testifying before Congress. Secretary O'Leary told Congressman Wooden that he and his Republican colleagues more interested in "scoring political points on the backs of poor people and minorities" than he was in solving the problems facing public housing. At the bill signing for the President's education initiative, the President was asked by Washington Postreporter Danny Concannon whether he thought Congressman Wooden was also a racist, and whether or not O'Leary should apologize for her remarks. The President initially sidestepped the question, but eventually remarked that "O'Leary had gone too far in assigning motive", and agreed that she should apologize. O'Leary was summoned to the White House to talk to Leo McGarry, where he tells her that she has to apologize. O'Leary objects, arguing that she was right and that apologizing would be contrary to her role as the highest-ranking African-American in the government. McGarry counters that the White House needs Republican support to pass legislation, and that her primary role is to serve the President. McGarry tells O'Leary that the President has to fire her if she doesn't apologize.