Top public health officials in the Trump administration will provide their forthcoming testimonies to a Senate panel remotely as some of them quarantine over coronavirus fears.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, and coronavirus testing coordinator Brett Giroir will all testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee over videoconference on Tuesday, according to Sen. Lamar Alexander.
“After consulting with Dr. Fauci, and in an abundance of caution for our witnesses, senators, and the staff, all four Administration witnesses will appear by videoconference due to these unusual circumstances,” the Tennessee Republican, who heads the committee, said Sunday.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, entered a “modified” quarantine on Saturday after “low risk” contact with a White House staff member who has COVID-19. Similarly, Redfield is self-quarantining for 14 days following exposure to the virus, and Hahn is undergoing a self-imposed quarantine after coming into contact with Vice President Mike Pence’s spokeswoman, who tested positive for the virus.
Alexander is also going into self-quarantine after one of his staff members tested positive for COVID-19 and will join the hearing via videoconference as well.
“After discussing this with the Senate’s attending physician, Senator Alexander, out of an abundance of caution, has decided not to return to Washington, D.C., and will self-quarantine in Tennessee for 14 days,” a statement from his chief of staff read. “The senator will be working remotely and will chair the Senate health committee hearing on Tuesday morning by videoconference.”
The hearing will mark the first time Trump administration health officials will testify about the federal government’s response to the pandemic since the White House barred members of its coronavirus task force from doing so during the month of May. President Trump later backed down, saying officials could testify before the GOP-controlled Senate but not the House led by “Trump haters.”
In March, Fauci testified during a House Oversight Committee hearing that coronavirus testing availability in the United States was “a failing.”
