Bleach-ful Transfer of Power: Biden Team Plans Spraying Down of White House to ‘Thoroughly Clean and Disinfect’ It Before Taking Office

Photo credit: Win McNamee, Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team plans to have both government agencies and a private contractor come in to “thoroughly clean and disinfect” the White House before the new president will take office after Donald Trump leaves next month.

That Twitter joke come to life is per Politico, which reported on Wednesday about the incoming 46th president’s plans for confronting the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic head-on. That daunting mission also includes making sure that his administration’s new headquarters — and his literal home — no longer serves as one of the nation’s superspreader hotspots.

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.

In addition, the Biden administration plans to put in place strict new public health coronavirus protocols inside the White House, which has been marked by an apathetic approach to daily testing, social distancing, and mask wearing during Trump’s tenure. Infamously, this has led to several waves of outbreaks infecting nearly every major Trump White House official at some point in the past few months.