With one of President Trump’s personal valets and Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, both testing positive for the coronavirus, several senior White House officials worry that it’s too late to stop the virus from sweeping through their ranks, The New York Times reports.
At the White House, all employees are being tested at least once a week, with those who come in close contact with Trump getting tested every day, senior officials said. Miller tested positive on Friday morning, one day after testing negative. She did not regularly wear a mask while working, the Times reports, and several staff members who were most likely in meetings with her before she tested positive are still coming into work. Her husband, Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller, tested negative on Friday, and is not expected to go into the White House anytime soon, people familiar with his plans said.
Trump has been ignoring Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and is not wearing a mask during meetings with people, the Times reports. One senior administration official said the fact that a valet who served him food tested positive rattled Trump, and he was “annoyed” to find out Katie Miller was positive. Over the weekend, several press aides who had been coming into the White House were told to start working remotely, and officials were urged to stay home if they believe they are getting sick.
One of Trump’s top economic advisers, Kevin Hassett, admitted on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday that it is “scary to go to work.” He wears a mask, but said he thinks “I’d be a lot safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing. It’s a small, crowded place. It’s, you know, it’s a little bit risky. But you have to do it because you have to serve your country.”
