Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on White House officials to be more transparent about the coronavirus outbreak that appears to stem from a super-spreader event in the Rose Garden.
In a letter, Schumer and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wa.) wrote, “We write seeking information on the steps the White House is taking to address the COVID-19 super-spreader event that occurred at the White House complex last week and the outbreak that has hospitalized the President of the United States and infected numerous White House staff.”
The senators said it is crucial that those who were at the White House during the Rose Garden event — to announce the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court — get “accurate and transparent” about their potential exposure to the virus.
The Trump White House’s opaque, secretive handling of its super-spreader event is a public health threat.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 6, 2020
The outbreak which hospitalized Pres. Trump and infected numerous WH staff, 3 Senators, and more has yet to be fully contained.
We're fighting for transparency and tracing. https://t.co/gQlPv72dXM
However, they said, “The White House has conducted itself in a secretive manner and shown a complete lack of regard for public health and safety. Critical information about the health of the President and his associates appears to have been deliberately withheld in order to minimize public scrutiny and awareness.”
“And it is still unclear when the President or his advisors first knew there was an outbreak,” they added.
Additionally, they cited press reports that the White House was conducting very little contact tracing and charged that there has been little guidance about the risk of asymptomatic spread of the virus.
“The opaque and secretive handling of information related to these events constitutes an obvious threat to public health and is unacceptable in a free nation whose elected leaders must be transparent with and accountable to the American people,” the letter continued.
“We call on you to immediately provide a thorough and complete description of what, if any, contact tracing regimen has been instituted to prevent further spread of the virus, and detailed information about the progress of that effort, if it exists. We also call on you to provide complete transparency regarding the timeline of the outbreak and guidance to any and all individuals working within the White House complex.”
Finally, they said, “It is a crisis that has now reached deep into the White House and the Senate. Our most important priority must be the health of the American people, not optics or political considerations.”
The letter comes as President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, three Republican senators, the chair of the Republican National Committee, and several White House staffers have all tested positive for the coronavirus.
And it comes amid reports that White House officials rejected an offer by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the outbreak and provide contact tracing for the Rose Garden event.
In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere said, “The White House has plans and procedures in place that incorporate current CDC guidelines and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure and has established a robust contact tracing program led by the White House Medical Unit with CDC integration.”
