Harris’ staff to shift to in-person work in July as White House eases COVID restrictions

Vice President Kamala Harris will have all her staff with her on the White House grounds for the first time since she took office beginning in July.

According to a White House memo obtained by McClatchy, aides to the vice president who have been working from home all or some of the time since the inauguration will be onboarded beginning July 6.

The policy change also applies to other White House staff, in addition to aides to Harris. They will make the transition to full-time work at the White House between July 6 and July 23, the memo said, although there are possible exceptions for those facing extenuating circumstances.

The directive does not apply to every aide to President Joe Biden who is working remotely. The memo said those who are not working out of the White House already will be contacted about relocating to Washington, D.C and transitioning to on-campus work at a later date.

The White House has already dropped a mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals. More journalists were also allowed at the White House and in the press briefing room beginning in late May.

But the White House Office of Management and Administration signaled in a memo to aides on Tuesday that it plans to curtail additional health and safety restrictions it put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic in the next few weeks.

To help make room for Harris’ staff and other incoming White House personnel, aides who have been working out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where the vice president’s suite of offices are located, are being moved from or within the building.

Harris’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A full reopening of the White House is not expected in early July. Rather, an official stressed that the White House would resume normal operations in phases this summer.

“We are planning a phased approach to bring remote White House staff back to campus and resume other White House operations later this summer. As we do so, we will continue to follow COVID protocols and work in close consultation with our public health experts and advisors. We remain committed to facilitating a safe and productive White House campus,” a White House official told McClatchy in a statement.

The White House welcomed its first foreign leader since Biden took office in April and held an indoor event last month with guests, a Medal of Honor ceremony, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask or maintain physical distance.