- The COVID-19 pandemic has been troublesome for the White House residence workers.
- A staffer stated that workers got conflicting info on methods to safely return to work final yr.
- The White House’s method to COVID-19 shifted dramatically after Biden succeeded Trump.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
While former President Donald Trump and plenty of of his aides were battling their very own bouts with COVID-19 final yr, the White House residence workers by no means stopped toiling within the background, according to The New Yorker.
For years, residence workers lamented the infrequency of occasions held on the White House under Trump, which included solely two state dinners, in comparison with the six that had been hosted by former President Barack Obama in his first time period.
Among “lifers,” the workers members who’ve served a number of US Presidents, a way of “malaise” had unfold all through the White House, in keeping with the report.
As the COVID-19 pandemic wore on final yr, the desolation of the constructing solely intensified. A workers member that was renamed Jason to guard his identification mentioned the evolving state of affairs under Trump.
“People stayed residence,” he stated. “Everything from meals service to nationwide safety — if it might be carried out at residence, it was carried out at residence.”
But former White House chief usher Timothy Harleth stated the residence workers adhered to the required COVID-19 well being tips greater than different Trump White House workers.
“We had been those carrying P.P.E. [personal protective equipment], pushing to get our people examined,” he stated, however famous that “most of our people cannot simply telework.”
According to Harleth, roughly seven or eight residence staffers contracted COVID-19.
Once the staffers recovered, they had been requested to work within the place of different workers attributable to a presumption of immunity in opposition to the extremely infectious illness.
Jason stated that the “lifers” weren’t given constant messaging on once they had been anticipated on the White House or in the event that they wanted to stay at their properties.
“There was tons and much of confusion, no path from the highest, an entire lack of empathy, sympathy,” he expressed. “The Christmas events with maskless hordes had been catered, however [the staff] must be there for this and that. There was not a gradual message on methods to hold you secure.”
When President Joe Biden and first woman Jill Biden arrived on the White House on January 20, the tone within the constructing had shifted.
Due to social distancing measures, workers had been unfold out all through the State Floor when the Bidens arrived at the White House after the inaugural ceremony.
Another residence staffer remarked on the distinction between how Biden approached the pandemic and that of Trump, the place staffers had been all assembled in a single room for goodbyes earlier than the previous president’s departure.
“It’s like night time and day,” the staffer stated.
