Departing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky has agreed to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic next month about the influence nongovernmental groups such as teachers unions had over public health mandates during the outbreak.
Walensky, who was invited to testify after ignoring records requests related to the agency’s communications on school reopening for months, has confirmed she will visit the subcommittee for a hearing on June 13.
“We are looking forward to Director Walensky’s testimony before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and are pleased that the Biden Administration has allowed her voluntary appearance,” a spokesperson for the select subcommittee told The Post. “There are many questions that the Director is uniquely qualified to answer and it is important for the American public to hear directly from her.”
The subcommittee requested Walensky’s presence following testimony from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who informed Congress in April that she and the director spoke directly by phone and communicated about CDC policy regarding school reopening guidelines in early 2021.
“AFT President Randi Weingarten’s testimony before the Select Subcommittee in April revealed, for the first time, that Ms. Weingarten had a direct telephone line to Director Walensky,” the committee said in a statement. “This previously unknown information raises further questions about potential political interference in CDC policies and decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) first asked for Walensky’s testimony just weeks after the CDC director announced May 5 that she would step down on June 30.
“I have never been prouder of anything I have done in my professional career,” Walensky told President Biden, saying that despite “mixed feelings” it was appropriate for her to leave her post following the expiration of the public health emergency triggered by COVID-19.
Wenstrup reminded the Biden appointee on May 23 that her resignation did not preclude future testimony, especially concerning her agency’s decision to let the American Federation of Teachers suggest language for guidelines that delayed the return to full in-person learning.
“Impending departure from federal service does not protect you from accountability,” his office said in a tweet.
The CDC’s February 2021 “Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Prevention” urged districts to keep classrooms closed based on transmission rates — despite former CDC Director Robert Redfield having said in July 2020 that children were at low risk of transmitting the virus in school.
The Post reported on the AFT’s emails suggesting the change, as well as communications between Walensky and Weingarten in the months leading up to the release of the guidelines.
Walensky’s testimony may further shed light on the relationship. Weingarten, for instance, revealed in her congressional testimony that the Biden transition team communicated with her in late 2020 and early 2021 — before the commander-in-chief even entered office.