White House: We will have a full briefing room ‘very soon’

The White House said on Friday that they are working to welcome people back and have a full press briefing room following more than a year of COVID-19 limits and restrictions.

“I can confirm we are a warm and fuzzy crew and we like to hug around here but we were waiting for that to be allowed by CDC guidelines, which we certainly abide by,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters when asked if the White House is open again.

Reporters removed their masks in the briefing room last week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated people can remove their masks indoors.

The White House press corps has limited the number of reporters attending each briefing due to the coronavirus, with journalists sitting spaced apart in the briefing room.

Dozens of guests were also in attendance at the White House for the ceremony to sign the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act on Thursday. On Friday, several guests attended a Medal of Honor ceremony. 

“We are, as many organizations and companies are, working to implement these guidelines here at the White House so what you’ve seen over the last couple of days is efforts to do exactly that and that includes welcoming back and having a full briefing room very soon,” Psaki said. 

“It includes having more events with more people and certainly continuing to open the White House up, the peoples’ house up, to the American public,” she added.

The bill signing on Thursday was attended by 68 guests, most of them maskless, and was one of the first large indoor gatherings of the Biden administration.