Ahead of a hearing of the House Select Subcommittee On The Coronavirus Crisis, Rep. Jim Clyburn released new evidence that Kellyanne Conway approved of and edited CDC guidelines for churches and houses of worship.
The subcommittee detailed its evidence in a press release provided to PoliticusUSA:
- In the morning of May 21, 2020, the day before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released public health recommendations for faith communities, Trump White House officials made edits to the guidance with no scientific basis. In an email to senior White House officials released today by the Select Subcommittee, Associate White House Counsel May Davis referred to the previous iteration of CDC’s faith-communities guidance as “problematic,” and proposed changes “on top of Kellyanne edits,” referring to former Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway.
- According to Ms. Davis, these edits “remove[d] tele-church suggestions” from the guidance. The recommendation to attend virtual religious services did not appear in the final guidance.
- Despite proposing these changes, Ms. Davis acknowledged that, “personally I will say that if I was old and vulnerable…drive through services would sound welcome.” This impression was consistent with the science informing CDC’s recommendations—earlier in May 2020, CDC had released reports on COVID-19 outbreaks at a choir practice and during church events.
Trump administration officials also threatened not to publish CDC guidelines unless passages relating to houses of worship were deleted by the CDC. This was also a move that Conway supported.
Houses of worship were a constant source of COVID outbreaks during the Trump administration because non-scientists like Kellyanne Conway ignored the science on COVID and put politics first.
How many Americans needlessly died because Kellyanne Conway, who is not a medical professional, made edits to the CDC COVID guidelines?
It is impossible to know for sure, but people died due to the Trump administration’s intentional mismanagement of the pandemic. The actions of Conway, Trump, and other officials got people killed and are a perfect example of this crew should never be allowed near the White House again.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
