White House: No Emergency Meeting on Coronavirus

The White House on Wednesday said it was not holding an emergency coronavirus meeting after a House panel chairwoman said she had to cut short a related hearing because two top U.S. health officials had been unexpectedly called to the White House.

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney said National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield had been called to an "emergency meeting" at the White House, forcing her to end a lawmakers' hearing before noon.

"This meeting was scheduled yesterday and is part of the administration’s ongoing whole-of-government response to the coronavirus," a White House official said.

Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to meet with hospital executives at the White House late Wednesday morning, followed by an afternoon meeting alongside President Donald Trump and bank executives.

Maloney, at the hearing, said she did not have additional details about the meeting, except that it was urgent.