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- The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for the staff at the White House residence.
- A staff member said employees received conflicting information about how to return to work safely last year.
- The White House’s approach to COVID-19 changed dramatically after Biden took over from Trump.
- Visit Insider’s Business section for more stories.
While former President Donald Trump and many of his aides battled COVID-19 last year, White House residence staff have never stopped working in the background, according to The New Yorker.
For years, residence staff lamented the rarity of White House events under Trump, which only included two state dinners, compared to the six that were hosted by former President Barack Obama during his first term.
Among the “lifers,” staff members who have served several US presidents, a sense of “unease” had spread throughout the White House, the report said.
As the COVID-19 pandemic dragged on last year, the building’s desolation only intensified. A staff member who was renamed Jason to protect his identity discussed the development of the situation under Trump.
“People stayed at home,” he said. “Everything from catering to national security – if it could be done at home, it was at home.”
But former White House chief bailiff Timothy Harleth said residence staff were more following necessary COVID-19 health guidelines than other Trump White House workers.
“We were the ones who wore PPE [personal protective equipment]pushing to get our people tested, ”he said, but noted that“ most of our people can’t easily telecommute ”.
According to Harleth, about seven or eight residential workers have contracted COVID-19.
Once staff members recovered, they were asked to work in place of other employees due to suspected immunity to the highly infectious disease.
Jason said the “lifers” had not received consistent messages about when they were due at the White House or whether they should stay at home.
“There was a lot, a lot of confusion, no top leadership, a complete lack of empathy, of sympathy,” he said. “Christmas parties with hordes without masks were held, but [the staff] should be there for this and that. There was no constant message about how to protect yourself. “
When President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrived at the White House on January 20, the tone in the building had changed.
Due to social distancing measures, employees were spread across the State Floor when the Bidens arrived at the White House after the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Another member of the residence staff noted the difference between Biden’s approach to the pandemic and that of Trump, where staff were all gathered in one room for farewell before the former president left. .
“It’s like night and day,” the staff member said.
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