(CNN) The White House is blocking US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and other officials from the agency from testifying before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on reopening schools next week, just as the debate over sending children back to classrooms has flared up across the US. White House officials informed the committee of its decision in an email, a staff member on the House panel told CNN. We need our doctors focused on the pandemic response," a White House official said, confirming the decision to block the CDC's participation in the hearing. But a spokesman for the House Education and Labor Committee said the panel had requested testimony from any CDC official, not necessarily Redfield. The invite was not for Dr. Redfield or no one," the official said.

Source: CNN July 17, 2020 21:00 UTC