White House COVID-19 outbreak
The White House COVID-19 outbreak was a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections that began in September 2020 and ended in January 2021 that spread among people, including many U.S. government officials, who were in close contact during the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C. Numerous high-profile individuals were infected, including then President Donald Trump, who was hospitalized for three days.[5] At least 48 White House staff members or associates, closely working with White House personnel, tested positive for the virus.[2][3][6] The White House resisted efforts to engage in contact tracing, leaving it unclear how many people were infected in total and what the origins of the spread were.[7]
For the group convened by the Trump Administration to coordinate federal response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, see White House Coronavirus Task Force. For the group convened by the Biden Administration, see White House COVID-19 Response Team.White House COVID-19 outbreak
White House, Washington, D.C., United States
October 1, 2020
September 30, 2020
September 26, 2020
At least one, by October 15[4]
Many of the infections appeared to be related to a ceremony held on September 26 in the Rose Garden for the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, where seating was not socially distanced and participants were mostly unmasked. His chief of staff recalled that Trump looked "a little tired" and was suspected of having a "slight cold".[8]
Hours after the ceremony, Trump tested positive for COVID-19, although the public would not learn of this result until one year later, in October 2021.[8] Trump himself may have been infectious at that point, but he and his entourage attended several subsequent events unmasked, including the first presidential debate against Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio on September 29.[9] The next day, Presidential Counselor Hope Hicks was placed in quarantine aboard Air Force One while returning with Trump from a campaign event in Minnesota. Following that, the president proceeded on schedule to an October 1 New Jersey fundraiser where he mingled, unmasked, with donors.[10] More infections were reported in late October among Vice President Mike Pence's staff,[11] and a second large outbreak occurred after Election Day, after Trump held a watch party in the East Room.[12]
Other infections included First Lady Melania Trump; Republican Senators Thom Tillis, Mike Lee, and Ron Johnson; Republican Representative Matt Gaetz; Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien; RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel; former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway; former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie; Notre Dame president John I. Jenkins; Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany; presidential advisor Stephen Miller; Chief of Staff Mark Meadows; and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. As of November 11, at least 48 people had tested positive.[2][3] At least one person, White House security office head Crede Bailey, was reported as "gravely ill,"[13] having fallen sick in September prior to the Rose Garden event.
The Rose Garden cluster emerged in the final weeks of Trump's campaign for the 2020 presidential election, a little more than a month before the last day of voting, November 3. Commentators were critical of the White House for providing conflicting information about Trump's condition and the timeline of his infection, as well as delaying the disclosure of the initial diagnoses of White House staffers.[14] According to public health experts such as Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the outbreak could have been prevented.[15][16][17]
Subsequent outbreaks[edit]
Pence staff[edit]
In late October, ABC News learned an unidentified staffer in the vice president's office had tested positive.[210] Days later, it was announced that five close advisers to Pence had tested positive: Marc Short, Chief of Staff to the Vice President; Marty Obst, one of the Vice President's closest advisors; Zach Bauer, the Vice President's "body man;" as well as two unnamed members of Pence's staff.[211][212][213]
After initially trying to keep the outbreak quiet, the White House announced that Pence would continue with his schedule, including political rallies, despite having been in "close contact with Mr. Short".[214][210]
Election Night party[edit]
On November 3, 2020, Election Day, Donald Trump held a party for staffers and campaign officials in the East Room of the White House. The party was unprecedented in its size and scope.[215] Similarly to the Barrett nomination, few people wore masks or practiced social distancing.[216] On November 6, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' positive COVID-19 test was made public.[217] Meadows had been diagnosed on the 4th, but tried to keep his results secret, a move that concerned officials.[218][219] Diagnoses for Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Meadows,[220] Nick Trainor, a director for the Trump campaign, and five White House staffers[217] were also made public on the 6th. The following day, Jared Kushner aide Charlton Boyd[221] was reported to be infected, and Florida Representative Matt Gaetz announced he had developed antibodies for the virus.[222]
On November 9, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson and Citizens United head David Bossie tested positive for COVID-19. According to his brother, Carson was "in good spirits".[12] Two days later, Brian Jack, White House political director, and 2016 campaign spokesperson Healy Baumgardner were diagnosed.[223] On November 12, it was revealed that party attendees Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign advisor, and Republican strategist and lobbyist Jeff Miller tested positive for coronavirus.[219]
On November 13, media outlets reported that over 130 Secret Service officers had been forced to self-isolate because they tested positive for the coronavirus or had been in close contact with infected individuals.[224]
