Randi Weingarten tells Congress she has CDC director’s personal phone number
Jeremiah Poff
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American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told Congress on Wednesday that she has the direct phone number of Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Weingarten was being questioned by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic over her organization’s role in crafting the CDC’s February 2021 guidelines on how to reopen schools.
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Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) grilled Weingarten on her relationship with Walensky, repeatedly asking the president of the teachers union whether or not she had Walensky’s direct phone number.
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“Yes, I have Director Walensky’s direct number,” Weingarten ultimately replied.
Lesko remarked that she hoped Walensky would give her that same number, noting that she did not have the CDC director’s direct line.
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Weingarten and the AFT have faced a breadth of criticism from conservatives and Republican politicians for the union’s role in influencing the CDC’s guidelines on school reopenings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Internal emails from the CDC revealed that the agency modified its draft guidance on school reopenings at the behest of the AFT, inserting language that said the guidelines could be changed based on community transmission rates.