The White House will be thoroughly deep-cleaned & disinfected before Biden moves in

Biden Remarks Introducing Retired four-star General Lloyd J. Austin III

Politico has a depressing story about all of the pandemic protocols around Joe Biden and his transition team. It’s depressing because this really should be a joyful time for Democrats and a moment where so many hard-working Dems are gleefully interviewing for jobs in the incoming administration. But Biden has smartly imposed public health protocols at every level, meaning that the people interviewing for assistant secretary to the Assistant Secretary of Interior are all blasting their CVs via email, and then doing their interviews virtually. But this Politico story did include some info about Biden’s plans to move into the White House only after it has been massively decontaminated:

Small and infrequent public events. Repeated testing of staff, reporters and the president-elect. Aides debating policies and Cabinet picks without ever meeting face-to-face. Preparations for a pared-down, mostly virtual inauguration. Joe Biden’s team has meticulously carried the virus safety practices of his campaign over to the transition. And his staff plans to take that approach to the White House on move-in day — intent on setting a good example for the country and avoiding the dangerous and embarrassing outbreaks of Covid-19 that have infected dozens in President Donald Trump’s inner circle, most recently sickening his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

“It’s a dynamic situation with the pandemic, but I think you’ll see the exact same adherence to and commitment to the science of keeping the team safe that you saw during the campaign and transition, you’ll see that as we enter the physical space,” said Yohannes Abraham, the executive director of the transition.

The grim reality of the country’s recent surge of cases is shaping Biden’s plans for the first days of his administration and how he plans to run his White House. The team only plans to have a skeleton staff working on campus at first, with most continuing to work remotely from home. They also plan to have the building — which has seen numerous virus outbreaks among staffers and top officials this year— meticulously sanitized.

Because the coronavirus can linger on surfaces for multiple days, a team deployed by the General Services Administration will go over every part of the White House’s East and West Wings touched by human hands in the hours after Trump departs and Biden moves in, a spokesperson from the agency confirmed to POLITICO. That includes plans to “thoroughly clean and disinfect” all furniture, doorknobs, handrails and light switches, before Biden and his team move in. Additionally, a private contractor will provide “disinfectant misting services” to clear the air of lingering droplets.

Still other changes aimed at keeping Biden and his team safe will be more cultural than logistical. “It’ll be the polar opposite of what you’re seeing now,” said Nicole Lurie, a former HHS assistant secretary of emergency and preparedness under the Obama administration who has advised Biden’s Covid-19 response. “I think the social penalties for non-mask wearing will be great. Instead of people being ridiculed for wearing masks, they’ll be pressured in the other direction. It’ll be hard to be in a meeting and not wear a mask or social distance.”

Thus far, those sorts of protocols have worked — preventing the 78-year-old Biden and nearly everyone in his circle from getting sick — but they have not been easy.

[From Politico]

Yay! I’m so glad that there are people tasked with a deep-cleaning of the White House before Biden moves in, and that he’s hired a non-government cleaning service to do the “misting” disinfectant. When I took my car into the Nissan dealership, they did the misting thing in my car too. I hope it’s more than just spraying that Lysol disinfecting spray! Anyway, I do feel sorry for the young Democrats seeking jobs and trying to make an impression virtually. But I’m glad that Biden is bringing public-safety culture to the White House, because sh-t has gotten nutty as a fruitcake out in America, with heavily-armed “anti-maskers” roaming around, threatening people.

Biden Virtual Roundtable with Workers and Small Business Owners Impacted by COVID-19

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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55 Responses to “The White House will be thoroughly deep-cleaned & disinfected before Biden moves in”

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  1. Snuffles says:

    And after they disinfect, they need to bring in a exorcist to purge the demons the Trump administration clearly brought forth. Then bring in a leader from every religion to bless and protect the White House and incoming administration.

    Shit, bring in some witches to cast protection spells while they’re at it!

  2. Darla says:

    Good, because, maybe I sound crazy, but I seriously believe these people would try to pull a smallpox-infested blankets situation.

  3. Capepopsie says:

    Excellent! 👌

  4. Katie says:

    sounds like a plan. it’s great they are trying to get everything that can be done remotely to actually be done remotely. I’ve faced absolutely ridiculous things in my own life that could’ve been done remotely and weren’t just because the people in charge were inflexible. I flat out refuse to proceed if things that can be done online aren’t.

  5. LarkspurLM says:

    Sage the S**T out of the People’s House.

    Change the toilets!

    I really hope the Bidens can wait a few days before moving in?

    • Jay says:

      Yes! Bring out the smudge sticks!

    • Esmom says:

      Oh yeah, I would definitely change the toilet seats. I always did that when moving into a new apartment, lol.

    • LadyMTL says:

      You took the words right out of my mouth, hahaha. I bought a condo a few years ago, and one of the first things I did (after changing the toilet seat) was to get a smudge stick and cleanse the place. I think the Bidens will need a good 2-3 dozen to properly sage the WH.

    • ElleV says:

      LOL! … but seriously you guys change apartment toilet seats rather than just cleaning them thoroughly? Do you use public toilets? This is not snark – I legit don’t understand and I am interested to know more!

    • Natters5 says:

      Is that atrocious wall around the White House still up? That needs to go down (after the far right extremists have calmed down).

      • Babz says:

        And eventually the Rose Garden needs to be returned to its former beauty, and probably Michelle’s Garden needs refurbished too. I imagine that poor thing was neglected except for when Melania wanted photo ops while “working” in it. I want the wall gone too, but hadn’t considered the continuing danger from the crazies. Maybe best leave it there for a bit.

  6. Anne says:

    Cleaning is one thing but what about all the poor workers. I would think they would all need to isolate for a period of time and have proper tests done. Especially people who will be working in the East wing.

    • lucy2 says:

      I have felt so badly for anyone who worked in a non-political position in the WH the last 4 years. They have been treated so poorly and exposed, repeatedly to wave after wave of covid. I’m sure all of them are looking forward to the Bidens and this new administration, who will actually treat them with respect and protect them as best as possible.

  7. schmootc says:

    Finally! It’s about time we have someone in the White House modeling appropriate behavior for people. We just hired someone in my department virtually. It’s not the same as meeting in person, but let’s be honest – hiring is kind of a crapshoot a lot of the time anyway. The best candidate can turn out to be an ass and vice versa.

  8. Zen says:

    Have you seen the Stephen Colbert segment called “The Road away from the White House”? It shows a harried Trump, comb over askew with bald head evident, babbling while being chased by Harris and Biden in hazmat suits spraying him with containers that say vote on the side. Very appropriate to this post.

  9. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Hell, remove the tangible history, burn it to the ground and erect a more beautiful American House which exudes global culture. Leave the ancient homogenized white arrogance in the burnt dust.

    • HoofRat says:

      Canada has a bit of a history with setting fire to the White House; maybe in the spirit of neighbourliness, we can channel 1812 and help jumpstart this particular urban renewal process. Because Joe and Kamala et al shouldn’t have to worry about what fresh nastiness awaits in the ductwork.

    • The Recluse says:

      Sam Neill’s ancestor was one of ‘johnnies’, as he put it, who set fire to the White House back in the day. I remember him saying that on the old Tonight Show when he was talking about the showing of Jurassic Park at the White House back when Clinton was in office. Apparently, he told Bill Clinton about it.

  10. Miranda says:

    From the moment Trump took office, we knew that the next 4 years were gonna be bad. But did any of us think it would end up being “fumigate the White House” bad?

  11. Esmom says:

    I can already imagine what the MAGAs will say about a White House with more safety protocols. Not that I care except that everything seems to trigger them, so the potential for unhinged nutjobs getting violent seems to become greater every day. Just last night I fell into a Twitter rabbit hole where people actually think Biden’s ankle boot is only to cover up an ankle monitoring bracelet because he’s already under arrest by Trump’s team. I…just can’t.

  12. Lola says:

    I hope they get new beds and all house linen!!! Imagine having to sleep in the bed Trump watched Fox News in for 4 years. UGH

    • Shelly says:

      They need to pull every speck of linen and even the mattresses out of that house and burn them on the lawn. I wouldn’t go near anything those nasty people had touched, yuck! Definitely new toilets….

    • Sandy Eggo says:

      That’s what I’ve been thinking, too! Can you imagine the stench in that bedroom where he eats all his hamberders and likely soils the bed every night? They will have to rip out all the carpets, drapery, mattresses, every soft surface!

      • Lucky Charm says:

        I certainly wouldn’t mind my tax dollars going towards a total refurbishment of the White House! They need to replace every drape, curtain, carpet, rug, pillow, sofa, chair, lampshade, napkin, tablecloth, blanket and all bed linens.

  13. NightOwl says:

    I know this might sound crazy, but I hope they sweep for more than just viruses. I hope they sweep for hidden devices and things like that, even in the Rose Garden and tennis pavilion. I’m sure they do on a regular basis and maybe it’s just not reported on for security reasons. But I worry about it.

  14. Amelie says:

    This is about what I expected from the Biden-Harris administration and while none of us are surprised, it’s such a relief to hear it. I feel like deep cleaning the whole White House would probably take more than a few hours (or at least the important places where lots of staff congregate)? If Trump ends up going to Mar a Lago and staying there, maybe they can get the cleaners in there ahead of schedule.

  15. Quincytoo says:

    Is there enough Sage in the world to burn away the smell of Macdonalds cheeseburger?

  16. Wit of the Staircase says:

    Definitely calls for burning sage as big as a Christmas tree and holding a Native American cleansing ceremony.

  17. Aimee says:

    Let’s be honest: This place needed to be disinfected even without an ongoing pandemic.

  18. J ferber says:

    Snuffles, you beat me to it with the exorcist recommendation. I can only add that more spiritual purifications by many more religions are also appropriate. The entire Underworld has taken root in that unclean, haunted house. Now it will be the People’s House again. No more ghouls allowed.

  19. Interact says:

    I can hear the news reports now. “While shovelling out what appeared to be a pile of rotting orange peels in front of a TV blaring fake news in a White House bedroom, the cleaning team was surprised when the moldering heap of refuse began shouting “I WON!!!” and they discovered that it was, in fact, the former president. The remains were tactfully conveyed to a gold-painted dumpster on the White House lawn, and fast-food burgers were thrown in after it until it stopped whining.”

  20. ann says:

    Spray tan splatters all over the fing bathroom, and fake bronzing everywhere. Ewwwww! Get it all outta there!

    • The Recluse says:

      Based on what Noel Casler has been saying, there is probably much worse on those walls than tanner.

  21. Jezebeelzebub says:

    Now we just need to fumigate, exorcise, and/or bless the entire country and hope that will cleanse the evil and drive the trumpiness out of everyone so maybe as a nation we can be mostly decent and act right.

    I’d like to volunteer the Florida Panhandle to go first, because this place is a *shithole*.