The White House insisted President Joe Biden’s lunches with Vice President Kamala Harris are a priority, despite the pair only meeting for the meal twice this year.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the lunches “absolutely” remain important to Biden and his No. 2.
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“Obviously, they’re not going to be dining in person while she is quarantining at home, but they did speak yesterday,” she told reporters Wednesday. “I expect they will speak regularly while she is quarantining.”
Biden and Harris touted the decision to lunch weekly at the start of their administration, a tradition carried over from former President Barack Obama’s dynamic with Biden, his understudy.
After their inauguration, Biden and Harris listed a lunch on their public schedules almost every week, but the frequency has petered out to twice a month since May. They have only met two times this year for the meal, according to their schedules.
The regularity of Biden and Harris’s in-person meetings and engagements was underscored this week after Harris tested positive for COVID-19. Biden was not deemed a close contact because the pair had not been together since the White House Easter Egg Roll. Biden traveled interstate later in the week.
Psaki dismissed concerns Harris contracting the coronavirus posed a national security risk.
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“The vice president is continuing to carry out her duties as the vice president of the United States from home, engaging in meetings, policy discussions,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll see her in some capacity publicly from home as well.”
