WH Press Sec Scrambles To Avoid Question On When Schools Will Reopen

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha was cut off before answering whether all schools would be open this fall in a Thursday press conference.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre quickly rushed Jha off the podium after a reporter asked whether schools would be open in the fall during the press conference.

“Do you believe all schools will and must be open this coming fall?” the reporter asked.

Jha looked to Jean-Pierre, who touched his arm and rushed him away from the stage.

“You have to go,” she said. “We have to go. We’re over time.”

Jean-Pierre then took to the podium and changed the subject to the White House internship program.

More than 2,100 public schools were closed at the beginning of the spring 2021 semester, and school closures throughout the pandemic. Poor and minority students were more likely to have their schools shut down by Democratic politicians pushing school closures and lockdowns.

Students in majority in-person schools during the 2020-2021 school year lost 20% of a year’s worth of math learning, while remote students lost 50% of the year’s math learning. Approximately 1,268,000 students have left the public school system since March 2020.

The White House did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.