White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday insisted President Joe Biden was not a close contact with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has tested positive for covid, despite the hugs and kiss on the cheek they shared at two separate events this week.
Psaki noted that CDC guidelines define close contact as 'is being within six feet for a cumulative total of 15 minutes over a 24 hour period.'
'It's not arbitrary. It's not something made up by the White House. It's CDC guidelines,' she said at her daily press briefing.
As she was repeatedly grilled on the matter, Psaki doubled down, noting the CDC 'definition of it is 15 minutes of contact within a set period of time and within six feet.'
'It did not meet that bar,' she said of Biden and Pelosi's time together.
Psaki spent the majority of Thursday's press briefing defending the White House announcement that Biden was not in close contact with the speaker and repeatedly explaining the protocols the administration has in place to keep Biden from getting infected.
The president, who is 79, is vaccinated and double boosted. The White House removed its face mask policy after cases went down in the DC area. Biden went bare faced at those events as did many guests.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted President Joe Biden was not a close contact with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has tested positive for covid, despite the hugs and kiss on the cheek they shared - above Biden and Pelosi at a Tuesday event at the White House
White House press secretary Jen Psaki spent the majority of Thursday's press briefing defending the White House announcement that Biden was not in close contact with the speaker and repeatedly explaining the protocols the administration has in place to keep Biden from getting infected
President Joe Biden and Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson watch as the Senate votes on her confirmation from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Thursday
But the past week has seen an uptick in positive tests - particularly among people who have access to Biden, leading to the questions about the policies in place to keep the 79-year-old from getting infected.
In addition to Pelosi, lawmakers, two cabinet officials and several members of the White House press corps tested positive for covid following Saturday's Gridiron dinner - a white tie gathering of D.C. elite - and after a goodbye party for former National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne late last week.
Psaki said there were strict policies in place at the White House to protect the president and other principals.
'We have incredibly stringent protocols here at the White House that we keep in place to keep the president safe. to keep everybody safe. Those go over and above CDC guidelines,' she said.
She noted that senior staff are tested regularly and that anyone meeting with the president is tested.
'If you're going to see him in person, whether you're traveling with him or you're meeting in the Oval Office, you will be tested,' she noted.
However, Psaki could not say if Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson had tested negative for covid on Thursday. Jackson joined Biden in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to watch the Senate vote to confirm her to the Supreme Court. Photos show Biden and Jackson holding hands and hugging.
The White House has scheduled a celebration for Jackson in the Rose Garden on Friday. The outdoor event comes after some guests at Tuesday and Wednesday's indoor events tested positive for covid - including Speaker Pelosi and Kamala Harris' communications director Jamal Simmons.
The vice president was considered a close contact to Simmons.
Harris was at Tuesday's event celebrating the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, as was Pelosi. Pelosi hugged both Biden and former President Barack Obama, who was in attendance. Obama also hugged Simmons, who later announced his positive covid diagnosis.
Psaki also pointed out that Friday's event will be outside - the other events were held indoors due to rainy weather in Washington D.C.
'It's supposed to be a beautiful day. That is a big factor,' she said.
She dismissed concerns Jackson's celebration could turn into a superspreader like President Donald Trump's celebration for his Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's did. Barrett's event was also held in the White House Rose Garden.
'Well, one, at that point in time vaccines weren't available. People were not vaccinated. It certainly puts us in a different space,' she said.
The tightening circle of positive cases around the president led to the repeated questions to Psaki about his safety and health.
She said there were no plans to change covid protocols or reinstate a face mask policy for the White House.
'We expected there to be ups and downs and increases,' she said of the case rate.
She said there were no plans to test the president daily. Biden tested negative for covid on Wednesday evening and is tested regularly.
'That would be a decision made by his doctor, but that is not deemed to be necessary at this point,' Psaki said.
Pelosi's office announced on Thursday - shortly before the speaker was scheduled to hold her weekly news conference - that she had tested positive for covid.
Her office said she had tested negatively previously this week. The speaker is vaccinated and boosted.
Pelosi, 82, was at the White House on Wednesday when President Joe Biden signed a postal reform bill. She stood by the president and shook hands with him. And she was at the White House for Tuesday's event.
She was seen wearing a mask at one point on Wednesday but she also took it off for the bill signing.
The White House said Biden was not considered a close contact.
'The President is not considered a close contact of Speaker Pelosi as defined by the CDC,' the White House said in a statement on Thursday.
'The President saw Speaker Pelosi at White House events and had brief interactions over the course of the last two days. Last night as a part of his regular testing cadence, the President tested negative. He will continue to be tested regularly. The President wishes Speaker Pelosi a speedy recovery.'
Pelosi's office said she has no symptoms and is quarantining.
'After testing negative this week, Speaker Pelosi received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently asymptomatic. The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided. The Speaker will quarantine consistent with CDC guidance, and encourages everyone to get vaccinated, boosted and test regularly,' Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill said.
Pelosi was not at Saturday night's Gridiron dinner, a white-tie event of Washington media and officials. Hammill was in attendance.
Biden's sister Valerie Biden Owens, 76, was at the Gridiron dinner and tested positive for covid, her publisher announced. A planned party for her memoir was canceled and her publisher said she is not a close contact with the president or
