The President on Saturday evening convened members of his national security and public health teams to update him on the response to the domestic Ebola cases. The President’s advisors detailed the status of the contact tracing process to identify and, as necessary, monitor all individuals who may have come into contact with Ebola patients in Dallas following their exposure. The President’s team also reviewed for him the comprehensive measures the Administration—acting together with state and local partners—is taking to ensure that Dallas has all of the appropriate and necessary resources to diagnose any additional cases safely and effectively. The meeting concluded with a discussion of broader steps to increase the preparedness of our health sector nationwide.
Participants:
- The Vice President
- Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense
- Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security
- Denis McDonough, Chief of Staff
- Shaun Donovan, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
- Susan Rice, National Security Advisor
- Neil Eggleston, Counselor to the President
- Antony Blinken, Deputy National Security Advisor
- Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
- Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Katie Beirne Fallon, Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs
- Benjamin Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting
- Jennifer Palmieri, Director of Communications
- Anita Decker Breckenridge, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
- Suzanne George, Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the National Security Council
- Rand Beers, Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security
- Brian Egan, Deputy Counsel to the President
- Colin Kahl, National Security Advisor to the Vice President