White House press secretary Jen Psaki seemed to have trouble explaining why President Biden and some members of the first family were briefly unmasked while at the Lincoln Memorial for inauguration night events.
“I think he was celebrating in the evening of a historic day in our country,” she told reporters in the briefing room Thursday. “We take a number of COVID precautions, as you know, here, in terms of testing, social distancing, mask-wearing ourselves.”
“I think we have bigger issues to worry about at this time,” she said.
Biden gave his mask to first lady Jill Biden Wednesday night while he recorded his remarks for the television program taped in lieu of inaugural balls canceled because of the coronavirus. Members of his family, including his older granddaughters, took off their face coverings for photos at the memorial.
Shortly after he was sworn in as president, Biden signed an executive order making masks and social distancing mandatory on federal properties and for federal employees.
Psaki, though, was more direct when asked whether the Biden administration would take more care not to blur the lines between campaigning and governing. The press secretary, also a federal employee, conducted her first two briefings without a mask — though she did wear one while Anthony Fauci, the top federal infectious disease expert, led the briefing for a period on Thursday.
Former President Donald Trump’s team was frequently found to have flouted the Hatch Act, which bans executive branch employees from promoting political interests during the normal course of their work.
“There are some political events that are acceptable, but we certainly take the Hatch Act seriously and will abide by that,” she said. “You will not see a political rally on the South Lawn of the White House under President Biden.”
