WASHINGTON – After eight nights in a hotel a half-mile from the White House, the Texas Democrats who fled Austin over a voting rights dispute had grown a bit impatient for an invitation to meet with President Joe Biden.
“We know the president is watching and we’re waiting for him to call,” said state Rep. Ina Minjarez, D-San Antonio. “We are willing and ready to meet with him whenever he would like that.”
But that possibility grew remote Tuesday when an aide to Speaker Nancy Pelosi who had chaperoned the Texans at the Capitol last week tested positive for COVID-19.
So did a White House aide who may have spent time with the runaway legislators, six of whom have tested positive since Friday, three days after they spent an hour with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“There has not been a meeting planned and there hasn’t been a change to that,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, confirming that a “fully vaccinated White House official” tested positive on Monday and is experiencing mild symptoms.
Contract tracing showed no exposure for the president, vice president or senior officials, though news of a “breakthrough” case, afflicting someone who had been vaccinated, was worrisome.
As for the president’s message to the Texans, she added: “Thanks for standing up for voting rights and the rights of Americans to have our voices heard at the voting booth, and we appreciate your efforts in that regard.”
And, implicitly: keep your distance.
Everyone stricken so far – the six Texas lawmakers and the aides to Pelosi and Biden – was fully vaccinated. That should confer protection against any serious illness, and mute the potential for contagion.
“We’re still working diligently through the COVID protocols that we’ve already set in place,” said state Rep. Ron Reynolds, referring to daily tests for lawmakers and aides since Saturday, when the first three tested positive.
But the White House takes the health of the 78-year-old president seriously.
“The president is vaccinated, and that means he is protected,” Psaki said, adding that Biden is tested every two weeks. “I’m tested twice a week. Many are tested twice a week. Some are tested once a week. We’re all vaccinated.”
Rapid tests are mandatory for journalists and others who enter the Oval Office or other meeting rooms with Biden or Harris. Until June 7, testing was required for anyone entering the White House complex, whether they might be in proximity to the president or not.
That requirement has since been lifted for people who are fully vaccinated.
But White House protocols still aim to keep out anyone recently exposed. And the 55 Texas Democrats have become potential vectors since fleeing Austin. Republicans point to photos of them aboard a flight to Washington, none wearing a mask – technically allowed because it was a chartered flight, but a violation of CDC guidelines.
