Attorney General Merrick Garland is among 14 DC A-List Grilled Dinner Attendees Known to Test Positive at Covid – Update

2nd update, 14:05: So far, at least 14 attendees at Saturday’s Gridiron Club dinner have tested positive for Covid.

In a note to Gridiron members, club president Thomas Defranck wrote: “As of 4:00 pm Wednesday night we are aware of 14 guests at a Saturday dinner who tested positive for covidium. There is no indication of when they were first infected with Covid. But they interacted with other guests all night and we have to be realistic and wait for a few more occasions. Unless government officials independently declare their status, we will protect the privacy of guests who have tested positive. “

Defranck said Gridiron would warn “anyone who came close to a positive incident”. He urged those who are seated at a table or on either side of a positive person to take the test.

“Our primary concern is the health of all our members and guests,” he wrote.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said Wednesday they tested positive, as did Jamal Simmons, Vice President Kamala Harris’ communications director. Rep Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep Joaquin Castro (D-TX) also said they had a positive test.

Updated: Jamal Simmons, Kamala Harris’ vice president of communications, tested positive for the Kovid test.

Harris spokeswoman Kirsten Allen said in a statement that Simmons was “in close contact with the vice president as defined by the CDC leadership.” She said Harris will continue to see the doctor but plans to continue his public program.

Simmons was among the administration figures attending Gridiron’s dinner on Saturday, one attendee said. Since then, he and others have tested positive, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

“Jamal is in solitary confinement and works from home,” Allen said.

soon: Attorney General Merrick Garland is the latest attendee at last week’s Gridiron dinner to test positive for covid-19, which could be a DC A-list outbreak involving cabinet members, media personalities, and Capitol lawmakers.

Trade Secretary Gina Raymondo, who spoke at the event, and Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) also tested positive. second the Washington postAt least half a dozen reporters also have a positive test, along with White House and National Security Council personnel.

The Justice Department said Garland asked to be tested on Wednesday afternoon “after learning he may be exposed to the virus.”

The rumors of a possible spread of Covid at the event sent several participants in the search for Covid tests. An employee at one of the Northwest DC locations said they had a big raise yesterday.

Although President Joe Biden addressed more than 600 people via video, Garland was among six cabinet members in attendance, while Representative Jamie Ruskin (D-MD) and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu were among other speakers. The masks were not worn by most attendees, including Anthony Fauch, the White House’s top medical advisor, although masks are no longer needed in public places in Washington.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who also attended the event, told reporters that when it comes to Biden’s nondisclosure, “we continue to implement strict and strict protocols.” Psaki himself tested positive last month and only returned to the White House at the end of last week.

Participants at the Renaissance Hotel were asked to provide proof of vaccination, but not a negative test. There was also some social distancing, with guests seated at long tables.

The dinner hosted by the Gridiron Club And Foundation, a 65-year-old Washington-based journalist, has been canceled in the past two years due to Covid, and his return this year should have been a sign of DC’s return to the social scene as normal. . By the end of the month, the White House Correspondents Dinner plans to host its most high-profile event, an annual gathering that draws nearly 3,000 people to the Washington Hilton. WHCA plans to test the entry requirement.

Grilled dinner is a tradition that dates back to the 19th century and retains some elements of a bygone era. It’s a white tie and the night ends with the audience cheering and singing “Auld Lang Syne”.

Another tradition is for journalists to stage news scenes, with a satire that sings, but does not burn, the words of the club. This year, in a scenario called “Covid Blues,” he presented himself as Fauch and others as Democratic voters. Among the poems: “Doctor, Doctor: we closed the schools / but this has not stopped our sadness from Covid / we lose voters every day / Can we throw away all these masks?”

Other attendees at this year’s event included Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Republican Senators Roy Blunt and Susan Collins, and Democrats Kirsten Gilbrand, Amy Klobuchar, and Ed Mark. The Senate plans to vote this week on approving Ketanji Brown Jackson in the Supreme Court.

Guests included media figures such as Jane Paul and Gary Trudeau, author and historian Ron Chernow and Michael Beshlos, and Dallas Cowboys icon Emit Smith.

There is some expectation that Biden will attend the WHCA dinner, which will also feature Trevor Noah as entertainment. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, refused to attend the WHCA dinner, but attended the Gridiron in 2018 and the following year sent her daughter, Ivanka, and her son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

This year’s event had its share of Biden bats and some high-pitched Trump. second MailSununu, a Republican, initially spoke as if he were a Trump loyalist, before saying to the crowd, “Crazy.”

“I don’t think he’s crazy enough to be taken to a psychiatric hospital. But I think if I had been in one, I wouldn’t have gotten out of it. “