The President on Sunday afternoon convened his public health and national security teams to discuss appropriate measures to mitigate the risk of additional domestic Ebola cases. The President’s advisors updated him on policy considerations for new measures pertaining to returning healthcare workers, whose selfless efforts are critical to fighting this epidemic in West Africa. The President underscored that the steps we take must be guided by the best medical science, as informed by our most knowledgeable public health experts. He also emphasized that these measures must recognize that healthcare workers are an indispensable element of our effort to lead the international community to contain and ultimately end this outbreak at its source, and should be crafted so as not to unnecessarily discourage those workers from serving. He directed his team to formulate policies based on these principles in order to offer the highest level of protection to the American people.
Participants:
- The Vice President (via telephone)
- John Kerry, Secretary of State
- Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense
- Eric Holder, Attorney General
- Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Secretary
- Denis McDonough, Chief of Staff
- Shaun Donovan, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
- Amb. Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (via video teleconference)
- Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement
- Susan Rice, National Security Advisor
- Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
- Neil Eggleston, Counsel to the President
- John Holdren, Director of the Office of Science and Technology
- Ron Klain, Ebola Response Coordinator
- Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (via video teleconference)
- Katie Fallon, Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs
- Jennifer Palmieri, Director of Communications
- Marisa Lago, Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development, Treasury Department
- Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
- Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development
- Suzanne George, Chief of Staff of the National Security Council
- Brian Egan, Deputy Counsel to the President
- Rand Beers, Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security
- Jeffrey Prescott, Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President
- Gayle Smith, Senior Director for Development and Democracy, National Security Council