The new mask policy comes after two aides who have close contact with Trump and Pence tested positive for the coronavirus.
As of Monday, all White House employees have to wear face masks within the White House complex, except when they are at their own desks.
The new policy, outlined in a memo and confirmed by administration officials, comes days after two White House aides who have close contact with Donald Trump and Mike Pence tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to concerns that the virus could quickly spread within the building.
The mask policy comes more than a month after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on April 3 that all Americans wear "cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain."
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser issued guidelines on April 6 on masks or face coverings for workers.
Governors across the country have recommended that masks be worn by the public as they start to open their states for business. Companies such as Costco and Walmart are requiring their employees to wear masks within their stores.
Both Trump and Pence have come under fire for not following CDC guidance on masks themselves.
Pence received a flurry of criticism after he didn't wear a mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota last month, despite the clinic's own regulations stating that masks were required. After making excuses as to why he didn't follow the rules, Pence ultimately admitted he should have worn a mask.
Trump refused to wear a mask during a visit to a mask factory in Arizona last week.
To date, nearly 80,000 people have died of the coronavirus in the United States, according to the Washington Post.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
