The White House will not allow any Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials, including Director Robert Redfield, to testify before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing next week on reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bobby Scott, the Democratic chairman of the House committee, said in a statement, “It is alarming that the Trump administration is preventing the CDC from appearing before the Committee at a time when its expertise and guidance is so critical to the health and safety of students, parents and educators.”
A White House spokesman said, “Dr. Redfield has testified on the Hill at least four times over the last three months. We need our doctors focused on the pandemic response."
President Donald Trump has said he wants schools to open with fill time in-classroom learning and has threatened to withhold federal funding from municipalities that do not do so.
The president, however, has received pushback on that goal from teachers unions, parents and politicians concerned about the safety of opening schools during a coronavirus pandemic.
