President Trump on Wednesday rejected guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to safely reopen schools — guidelines that are…
President Trump on Wednesday rejected guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to safely reopen schools — guidelines that are now being revised — as he finds himself increasingly at odds with his own administration over how to confront a surge in coronavirus cases.
Mr. Trump’s demands that schools and colleges reopen in the coming weeks came as the U. S. surpassed 3 million positive coronavirus cases in a pandemic that has left more than 132,000 Americans dead.
“We want the schools to be open and going in the fall,” the president said at a Rose Garden event. “Most of them, I think, are looking at it that way.”
As he pledged to keep up the pressure on governors to reopen, Mr. Trump said he disagreed with the CDC on its “very tough & expensive guidelines” on reopening.
“While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!” the president wrote on Twitter.
Public health experts said it’s vital for schools to reopen but rushing into it without a plan is a recipe for disaster.
“To open schools, the president must take public health seriously,” said Lawrence Gostin, a health law professor at Georgetown Law School. “He has not. Full Stop.”
Mr. Trump also threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that don’t reopen quickly enough.
The CDC is planning to issue revised guidance next week, though Director Robert Redfield said school districts shouldn’t use the guidelines as justification for keeping their doors closed to in-person classes.
“Our recommendations are not requirements, and they’re not meant to be prescriptive,” he said.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied that the White House pressured the CDC to change the guidelines.
“The CDC is very much on the same page as the president,” she told reporters.
