LAST CHRISTMAS

White House Determined to Party on This COVID-Teeming Holiday Season: Report

The outgoing administration will hold indoor parties at the White House this winter, even as public health officials encourage people not to gather in groups indoors.

The coronavirus pandemic—and a spate of recent positive tests in the White House—isn’t stopping the White House from partying this holiday season, The Washington Post reports. The outgoing Trump administration is scheduled to hold “more than a dozen” indoor parties at the White House this winter, even as public-health officials encourage people not to gather in groups indoors, the Post reported Tuesday. “This includes smaller guest lists, masks will be required and available, social distancing encouraged while on the White House grounds,” said first lady Melania Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, according to the Post. However, those requirements apparently aren’t being enforced; two officials told the Post they had a party on Monday, with some maskless attendees. The Republican Party is footing the multimillion-dollar bill for the parties, according to the Post. Several top White House officials—including the president, first lady, chief of staff, and press secretary—tested positive for the highly contagious virus after a September outbreak, linked to the event where Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee.