White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday fielded questions over the Biden administration’s adherence to COVID mitigation protocols as a slew of lawmakers – some of whom attended events with or near President Joe Biden in the past week – have tested positive for the virus.

What You Need To Know

  • White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday fielded questions over the Biden administration’s adherence to COVID mitigation protocols as a slew of lawmakers have tested positive for the virus

  • Psaki said President Joe Biden, who is double-boosted and is tested regularly, will continue with his public schedule despite the uptick in cases

  • Biden appeared at a largely unmasked, outdoor ceremony to honor Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court on Friday

  • The White House has continuously maintained that Biden has not been a close contact to anyone who contracted COVID-19 in recent days

Psaki said President Joe Biden, who is double-boosted and is tested regularly, will continue with his public schedule despite the uptick in cases, saying the progress made over the past year allows for historic events – like Friday’s outdoor ceremony honoring Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court – to go on with proper mitigation efforts in place.

“We know that having events outside is better for safety protocols, there's no question about that,” Psaki told reporters Friday afternoon, adding Biden’s “doctors have assessed that these are risks that can be taken.”

“It's important for [Biden] to be able to continue his presidential duties now, and even if he tests positive in the future,” she said. “This is a time where we are certainly living with the virus but we have a range of tools at our disposal to do that.”

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield echoed similar sentiments in an interview with CNN earlier Friday.

"We take every precaution to ensure that we keep him safe, the vice president safe, the first lady, second gentleman, our staff here," Bedingfield said. "But it is certainly possible that he will test positive for Covid, and he is vaccinated, boosted and protected from the most severe strains of the virus.

Asked whether there was a concern that the Friday event could be a “super-spreader” for the virus, like President Donald Trump’s Rose Garden ceremony announcing the nomination of now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Psaki emphasized that the risks from the virus are now much lower now because of vaccinations and treatments.

“At that point in time, vaccines were unavailable, people were not vaccinated, it certainly puts us in a different space,” Psaki said.

The White House has continuously maintained that Biden, who appeared unmasked at Friday’s event, has not been a close contact to anyone who contracted COVID-19 in recent days.

According to the CDC, a person must have interacted with a COVID-positive individual within a distance of six feet for a period of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour time span, including in the two days before the infected individual tested positive. The guidance holds for both indoor and outdoor events. 

Still, the circle of those who contracted the virus this week is slowly growing around the president. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, all announced Wednesday they had tested positive for the virus. All but Clark had attended the Gridiron Dinner, a high-profile D.C. media event. 

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who was not in attendance at the Gridiron dinner, announced she had tested positive for the virus. Pelosi stood next to President Joe Biden during a bill signing on Wednesday and also attended another White House event with Biden and former President Barack Obama on Tuesday, but the White House press office on Thursday said Biden was not a close contact because they were "brief interactions."

Also on Thursday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced that she tested positive for COVID-19 late in the afternoon, just hours after appearing – unmasked – on the floor of the U.S. Senate to vote on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, also unmasked, presided over those hearings, and also appeared alongside Biden and Jackson at Friday’s event on the South Lawn.

While the trio – all of whom, like many other attendees, were unmasked – maintained distance between one another for most of the event, Harris and Jackson at one point shared an embrace. 

“The vice president has been wearing a mask inside. When there was a private greet, they were all wearing masks before they went out,” Psaki said in response to questions following the event, later adding: “She was socially distanced for 99.9% of the event today and she had an emotional moment, which is understandable.”