On Thursday morning, a group of about 20 officers toured the event in groups, examining the seats at the top of the Mount Rushmore amphitheater, the press area and the stage where the president will speak. Only two wore a mask; a separate group of half a dozen uniformed officers mounting magnetometers at the park entrance were not wearing masks. But each agent who examined the assistants at the entrance was masked hours later.
As Trump and Pence resume regular travel schedules after months of pandemic-induced shutdown, the risks posed to the large contingent of U.S. Secret Service personnel the virus, sources familiar with the situation said.
The health hazard has emerged as a sore point for many within the agency, where sources describe an increased sense of anxiety and anger at being put into what some consider to be mindless risk. An agency source said there is “increasing anger and frustration” among some in the Secret Service at what they consider “unnecessary travel and exposure” due to the Trump and Pence trips.
“Even ardent Trump supporters are fed up,” an agency source said. “We checked in to get a bullet for him, we didn’t check in to get sick for him without good reason.”
In addition to the agents who have become ill, many more have been required to be quarantined after coming in contact with others who tested positive, pressing agency numbers as Trump and Pence continue to schedule trips around the country. Each trip requires multiple teams of agents, who work in shifts to ensure adequate rest.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said the president “takes the health and safety of all those who travel in support of himself and all White House operations very seriously.”
“In preparing and conducting any trip, White House Operations collaborates with the Physician with the President and the White House Military Office to ensure that the plans incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices to limit exposure to COVID-19 as much as possible. ” he said in a statement.
Within the agency, some have wondered how essential the trips made by Trump and Pence have been, particularly the campaign events that sources have previously described to CNN as in part to improve the President’s mood.
Pence’s recent trip has focused on the coronavirus, including in the Sun Belt states where cases are emerging, and attendees have said it is important for the vice president to gain insight into the crisis.
The vice president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN.
“President Trump wanted me to be here to tell you and the people of Arizona that we are with you,” Pence said Wednesday when he met with the state governor. “We will make sure you have what you need, when you need it, to meet this moment.”
But Pence’s trip also has the effect of lending urgency to a pandemic response that Trump has been accused of alternately altering and ignoring. And Pence previously communicated extensively with governors by teleconference.
Agents’ required duties often make it difficult to comply with federal social distancing guidelines, although the agency has said it is working to keep its employees safe.
“The health and safety of our workforce, their families and that of our protégés remains the agency’s highest priority,” Secret Service communications director Catherine Milhoan said in a statement. “The agency continues to operate in accordance with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Office of Safety, Health and Environment Programs of the United States Secret Service.”
At least eight Secret Service agents assigned to Pence’s details before his trip to Arizona this week tested positive for the coronavirus just before the vice president was scheduled to travel there, a police source told CNN.
It is unclear if there is an overlap with the Tulsa and Phoenix agents.
Positive tests forced a one-day delay in the trip so that the Secret Service could exchange a healthy team: Pence was scheduled to go to Arizona on Tuesday, but instead traveled on Wednesday. Ahead of Pence’s trip, the state reported record highs for both new daily cases and deaths since the state began publishing data publicly in mid-March.
After testing positive, officers quarantined a hotel in Phoenix, people familiar with the matter said. Some are symptomatic and are being seen by a doctor, although they have not yet required hospitalization, the sources said.
Pence’s trip originally included several more public stops, including in Yuma, but the trip was cut amid the recent surge in Covid cases in Arizona. While there, Pence received reports and updates from local officials and did not leave the airport.
It happened more than a week after the Trump rally in Oklahoma, which disappointed the president due to low turnout but sparked a series of cases among his staff and details from the Secret Service.
Although the number of published agents who tested positive while working at the Tulsa rally is two, a source familiar with the matter said the actual number is closer to 15.
Secret Service agents were evaluated in Tulsa on June 19, the day before the demonstration, and those who tested positive received their results within 48 hours, meaning that some or all of them may have been at the demonstration without knowing that they had positive. They were all retested in Washington six days after the rally.
To avoid the planes, the positive agents drove back to their operating bases, which included Dallas and Houston, to quarantine for at least 14 days. Agents who tested negative in Tulsa were also required to quarantine their home for 14 days; most have already been cleared to return to work as early as this weekend.
In addition to Secret Service personnel, several Trump campaign staff members tested positive for coronavirus while working at the Tulsa rally. Many campaign officials were quarantined after the event as a precautionary measure. All were tested again days after the rally.
CNN’s Betsy Klein and Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report.
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