The NPR Politics Podcast - Fauci In "Modified Quarantine"; CA Special Election Has Lessons For November

Episode Date: May 11, 2020

After coming into contact with a White House staff member who tested positive for the coronavirus, Anthony Fauci and two other top officials from the White House taskforce are self-quarantining. And the special election in California's 25th congressional district illustrates the challenges social distancing will pose to congressional campaigns ahead of the general election.This episode: campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, congressional correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and KPCC reporter Libby Denkmann.Connect:Subscribe to the NPR Politics Podcast here.Email the show at [e-mail] the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio stationLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hi, my name is Jeffrey and I'm calling from my new home in Olesund, Norway, which I'm currently cleaning so that my newborn daughter, Ostri, can come home to a clean apartment. Due to coronavirus restrictions, I cannot visit her or my fantastic wife in the maternity ward, so I'm listening to the NPR Politics podcast to keep my mind occupied. This podcast was recorded at 2.05 p.m. on Monday, May 11th. Things may have changed by the time you hear this. Enjoy the show. And for when you're old enough to like American politics, Gratulere med Dagen, Austria. Congratulations. I'm super bummed that he can't be there, but I kind of like that he's spending his hours with us instead. Probably not as good as his newborn baby, but we'll do the best we can.

Well, hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Asma Khalid. I cover the presidential campaign. I'm Franco Ordonez. I cover the White House. And I'm Susan Davis. I cover Congress. So three of the nation's top scientific officials

are now in quarantine after coming into contact with a White House staff member who tested positive for the coronavirus. Franco, you're at the White House right now. So just fill us in. I mean, what should we know about who these specific people are? Yeah, I mean, Robert Redfield, he is the director of the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He has decided to self-quarantine. So has Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. And frankly, it's not just them who are taking precautions. It's also Anthony Fauci, who's one of the best known members of the task force and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He is also beginning a, quote unquote, modified quarantine. I'm told that after he came into contact with staff member, he's going to pull back as well. All of these men are apparently not showing symptoms. And both Hahn and Fauci have recently tested negative for the disease. But they are going to take precautions nonetheless. Got it. So these are all precautionary

steps. None of them have actually tested positive for the virus. That's correct. That being said, you know, these officials were slated to testify at this getting back to work in school hearing in the Senate. So my understanding is that hearing is still slated for tomorrow. How is that going to happen? It's still going to happen. But there's been a new twist in this as well, where over the weekend, the chairman of the committee, Lamar Alexander, he's a Republican from Tennessee, announced that he too had been exposed to a staffer who has since tested positive for coronavirus. So he's going to be self-quarantining for the next 14 days. He's not showing any symptoms, and he's going to self-quarantine and chair the hearing remotely. So it's going to be,

I can't even think of another hearing that would be like this, especially one that has so much public interest. I'm sure many, many people are going to be watching this, especially to hear from the health officials. But some senators, many people are going to be watching this, especially to hear from the health officials. But some senators, including the chairman, will be remote. Some can choose to be in the room and they've asked them to engage in social distancing. But it's all sort of reflective of how government is trying to function in this moment. And also, yes, a little bit of irony that the entire topic of the hearing is how people can go back to work. So, Franco, we don't know who these men actually came into contact with,

but we should point out that a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence recently tested positive for the virus, even though she was asymptomatic. So, given that we're hearing about all these other people quarantining, do we know if the Vice President plans to quarantine himself? The Vice President has since been tested tested and he's tested negative. His staff tells me that he's at the White House today continuing to work. But there are a lot of questions because he is not slated to be at the briefing, for example, today. He's not currently on the schedule.

That can change. But right now he's not on the schedule. I followed up with the vice president's office and they say the schedule is accurate. You know, it's I mean, frankly, there is this, as Sue was saying, a major contrast with the administration's strong desire to get the economy running and do so in a safe manner when the outbreak really is hitting the White House at this time. Look, the president and the White House want to present this image of strength and getting back to normal, but they're also under a lot of pressure to model more careful behavior for the rest of the country. We've seen those images of the president meeting with older generals, not wearing masks and not sitting six feet apart. But now, and you noted I'm here today at the White House, there has been a noticeable change over the last few weeks. Not now, and you noted I'm here today at the White House, there has been a noticeable change over the last few weeks. Not everyone, but there are more people wearing masks at the White House

as they go into and out of meeting. Security is wearing masks. And even, you know, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett, he acknowledged that people understand working at the White House can be a little risky right now, but they say they're here to serve the country. And obviously on Capitol Hill, lawmakers want to get back to work. The Senate came into session last week, the House has still not come back. But there was a lot of concern raised about bringing lawmakers back to Washington. What if there was an outbreak of the coronavirus? And Lamar Alexander, while he does not have it, he tested negative for it also shows that there is this other problem of exposure requires self-quarantining, or generally does for this 14-day period. And one of the concerns is not

just that members would get sick. I mean, obviously, that's a concern. But if you have mass exposure in a place like the Senate, where it forces senators to have to self-quarantine, where they can't vote in person, then on top of the economic and health crisis, you have a governing crisis. If you don't have a critical mass of senators available to vote, they can't move any legislative business. And that's why you have seen proposals that are going to continue to hear conversation about allowing ways for senators and members of the House to vote remotely in the event of either an outbreak or mass quarantining, then government can still function. Right now,

there's no plan if that happens. All right, Franco, since you're at the White House, I'm sure you've got plenty of news to cover. So we're going to let you go do that. But thanks so much. Thank you. And when we get back, we'll talk about a special election in California and what that race might tell us about November. This message comes from NPR sponsor StoryPoint Wines, maker of StoryPoint, a bold new wine brand with a rich layered taste profile. Enjoy StoryPoint wine while you connect with those you love, either at home or at a virtual happy hour. Raise a glass and share a story. StoryPoint believes that the stories we share can bring joy even in trying times. Visit StoryPointVineyards.com slash politics to purchase.

Shipping is included in your online order, so consider shipping a bottle to a friend too. We're spending more time at home than ever before. So now's a great time to finally adopt a dog, right? Socialization is going to be harder because socialization and social distancing are definitely at odds. So before you decide to adopt a canine companion during quarantine, listen and subscribe to NPR's Life Kit. And we're back. And tomorrow, California's 25th congressional district is having a special election. Sue, you've been reporting on this.

I'm glad you're still with us. And we've also invited Libby Dankman to the pod. She's a reporter with KPCC in Southern California. Hey, Libby. Hey, Libby. Hey, Asma. Hey, Sue. So Libby, why don't you start with some context and just explain to us what the 25th Congressional District looks like politically. this was a Republican stronghold. And it was seen as sort of the last bastion for Republicans in Los Angeles County. Well, in 2018, when the wave election for Democrats was sweeping across the country, Katie Hill, a insurgent first time candidate, really electrified district that had been trending blue, she got to Congress and became a rising star for a time. She was in leadership. Nancy Pelosi was said to favor her as advancing in leadership. And she

was really one of those freshman Democrats who had captured a lot of people's attention. And then just a few months into her first term in office, she got caught up in sort of an evolving and growing personal scandal. She was going through a really acrimonious divorce. Intimate photos of her were leaked, believed to have been leaked by her ex-husband. She was sort of the victim of revenge porn, but her ex-husband said he was hacked. But she also engaged in politically questionable behavior. She admitted to having an extramarital relationship with a member of her campaign staff, and she was accused of having a relationship with a member of her congressional

staff, which would have been in violation of health ethics rules. She opted to step down, effectively stopping that ethics investigation. But she still is trying to stay relevant in politics, and she's even inserted herself into this race. Yeah, I mean, to your point, Sue, you brought to our attention that she actually put out this ad to get out the vote, even though she's not running in this race. We're all scared right now. And it's even more dangerous because of what's coming out of that building right behind me. But there's something we can do about it. It's me, Katie Hill. And there's a special election for Congress on May 12th. And we have to vote. And we should say in this ad, she's standing in front of the White House and she's wearing a face mask at the beginning of it and then peels it off sort of dramatically to reveal herself.

And I would say many people I talked to, and I don't know if Libby had this the same way, but many Democrats I talked to saw this as a somewhat unwelcome insertion of Katie Hill into the race because, quite frankly, the district looks at her kind of negatively right now. So having her weigh in on, you know, ostensibly on behalf of the Democrat, Christy Smith, even though she didn't mention her, wasn't exactly something that Democrats were clamoring to get into this race. Yeah, I would agree with Sue. I heard that from several Democratic operatives. One likened it to acting like Clark Kent taking off his glasses and becoming Superman when she removed the mask. Overall, folks were hoping she would kind of stay silent and let Christy Smith, the Democrat, shine. So let's talk a bit more about what the current race looks like, because we're in this incredibly strange moment, you know, where campaigns cannot go door to door knocking on houses to get out the vote. So Libby, just who is running and what has it felt like for you to cover this campaign?

Yeah, it has become entirely a Zoom and Skype and FaceTime affair. There are plenty of folks who are choosing to do call time from their homes or they are joining different fundraisers for the candidates who are, as we mentioned, Assemblymember Christy Smith, who represents part of the district in the state legislature, and Mike Garcia, who is a first-time politician. He's a Raytheon executive taking leave from work and a former Navy fighter pilot. So the election is going forward, mostly through vote by mail, the governor has ordered everyone to get a mail in ballot. So folks have their ballots at this point, they have been mailing them in. And there are a few in person voting locations. But you know, by and large, this is

just a completely changed type of campaign than we have seen before in California or really across the nation. So much of these races is the ability to meet people, to introduce yourself to people and to create that human connection. And without it, I think it just makes campaigning that much harder this year and harder to have sort of a personal appeal. And I think Smith has suffered from that in some ways, because this is a district that should be leaning towards Democrats, but Republicans are giving her a real run for the money. And part of that is because she's had some screw ups. You know, she's done things like campaigning is happening over Zoom, like every other profession in this country right now,

people are doing things online. And she was having a Zoom call or a conference call, I should say, video conference call with liberal supporters. And they were talking about Mike Garcia in what appeared to be sort of these demeaning, diminishing ways of his military service. I texted my team and I'm like, OK, he's got pictures of planes behind him. I've got constitutional law books. Garcia was able to respond really quickly with an attack ad. I wouldn't even say an attack ad, a response ad highlighting that military service. I was willing to lay down my life for my country. I lost good buddies who laid down theirs.

And it's why a lot of people I talk to about this race give him an edge going into election day. So Libby, I am curious how much of the actual campaign conversation right now is being dominated by the coronavirus. So it's certainly taken over a lot of the conversation. I talked to Mike Garcia, who is a very strong supporter of President Trump, and he appreciates the federal government's response so far. Christy Smith says that it's been scattershot and that we need to be investing more in testing and tracing cases. But there are also a lot of local issues that bubble up here. It's a high desert community with a strong military connection. So talking about military budgets has been an issue.

There are also a number of open up protests that happen every weekend in the district. That's a coronavirus related issue. And some Mike Garcia supporters and campaign volunteers do show up at those protests. So, again, it's a it's a big issue. And most other issues are revolving around coronavirus. So given that, Sue, I mean, do you have a sense of how much the California 25th congressional district here is a microcosm of what, you know, campaigning in November could look like versus how much this is just a really unique race that doesn't mean anything for November? You know, where do you feel like national parties are when they're looking at this race?

I think this race matters for November because I think that at least as we know it now, the national campaign organizations are preparing, they're putting plan B in place if this is what races are going to look like. And I think even the most optimistic forecast for how the pandemic rolls out suggests that people even might be reluctant to be gathering in large spaces in the fall, and certainly over the primary seasons that are happening now all through the summer and fall. So it is tactically changing how every single campaign is operating right now from former Vice President Joe Biden and Donald Trump's campaign all the way down the ballot.

All right. Well, we're going to leave it there for today. Libby, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you so much, Asma and Sue. It was great having you. That's Libby Denkman of KPCC in Southern California. And that is a wrap for today. You can head to npr.org slash politics newsletter to subscribe to a weekly roundup of our best online analysis.

I'm Asma Khalid. I'm covering the presidential campaign. And I'm Susan Davis. I cover Congress. And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics Podcast.