White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany did about a five-minute gaggle with reporters.
Asked if the president is critical of scientists Kayleigh McEnany said: “That’s not at all the case. The president has a number of experts he takes into consultation and he decides what is best to go forward. The president regularly talks to the doctors. …He ultimately makes the decision as to how to move forward. After all he was elected by the American people to do just that.”
Asked if the President and Dr. Fauci having differing view points on schools: “So on the issue of schools as he said they have differing viewpoints. That’s clear. The President wants to see those schools reopen and do so safely. Dr. Fauci, I would note he ultimately clarified his testimony on the matter of schools and he says that school reopening is not tied to vaccines. So, Dr. Fauci did clarify that points but they definitely have differing opinions on this. And the President noted that himself yesterday.”
Asked if the White House had advance warning of the warrant on Senator Richard Burr: “I have no information on that and would refer you to Chairman Burr’s office.”
Does the White House have a procedure should the president and vice president become incapacitated due to coronavirus and Speaker Pelosi needs to step in: “That’s not even something that we’re addressing. We’re keeping the president healthy. We’re keeping the vice president healthy and you know they’re healthy at this moment and they’ll continue to be.”
Should it be under discussion given coronavirus cases at White House: “The President’s healthy. The Vice President’s healthy and I think that’s something all reporters should be celebrating and the American people as well.”
On Speaker Pelosi’s new bill: “We certainly do not support the Pelosi bill full of Democratic wishes like giving direct payments with American taxpayer dollars to illegal immigrants. That’s unacceptable. As for plans for phase four, the president said he’s taking his time and being thoughtful about this. These are American taxpayer dollars. We’ve pumped trillions in already so he’s taking time out to think about the most thoughtful way to go about a phase four. He’s open to it. He’s mentioned the payroll tax as a good example of something that he’d like to see in there – not a condition but certainly something he’d like to see. And he’s open to it but taking his time.”
Asked if new unemployment claim numbers have added a sense of urgency: “He’s taking his time. We pumped trillions into the economy. He wants this country to reopen. And we’ve seen many states take steps to doing that. Florida is doing it successfully at the moment and so are some other states. And we had both a Democrat governor and yesterday and a republican governor who are looking to safely reopen their states. People want to get back to work.”
Asked if there are any more positive coronavirus cases at the White House: “No, not that I’m aware of.”