Annual Gridiron Dinner appears to be source of A-list coronavirus outbreak in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON - It was supposed to be an evening of lighthearted political satire and bipartisan fellowship among an elite cadre of politicians, journalists and public officials, just as it has been for much of the past 137 years.

Instead, the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington on Saturday appears to been notable as the source of a potential COVID outbreak among its A-list guests.

As of Tuesday morning, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced they had received positive results on coronavirus tests after attending the dinner at the downtown Renaissance Washington Hotel.

In addition, about a half-dozen journalists, and members of the White House and National Security Council staff also said they tested positive following the event. Their names are being withheld because they have not announced their status publicly.

Organizers of the dinner could not immediately be reached for comment.

The white-tie-and-gowns dinner attracted about 630 guests, including members of Congress, the Cabinet, diplomatic corps, military, and business. President Joe Biden did not attend, but appeared via video.

Among those in attendance were Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, and Centers for Disease Control director Rochelle Walensky.

Other guests included Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Edward Markey, D-Mass.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.; attorney general Merrick Garland, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack and special presidential envoy John Kerry; Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell; Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, both Republicans, and New York mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat.

The guest list also included White House press secretary Jen Psaki, former NFL great Emmitt Smith; NBA commissioner Adam Silver; CBS host Jane Pauley and her spouse, “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau; Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova; “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan, PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff; ABC White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, and Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan and editor Sally Buzbee.

Following a predinner cocktail reception, guests sat together at long narrow tables for hours, and watched satirical skits and songs performed by members. At the event’s conclusion, guests joined hands for the traditional singing of “Auld Lang Syne.”

The dinner was supposed to reflect a return to normalcy after being canceled the past two years due to the pandemic. Few guests wore masks or practiced social distancing, according to people in attendance. Only the serving staff was consistently masked throughout the evening.

One guest said that while organizers asked attendees to show their vaccination cards at the door, there was no requirement to be tested.

The evening’s sketches, performed by veteran Washington journalists, parodied figures in both parties, although Republicans - such as former president Trump, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Paul Gosar of Arizona, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas - came in for the sharpest jabs. None of those figures were in attendance.

At one point, a performer dressed as Fauci sang from the stage to the real Fauci in the audience: “Doctor, doctor, give me some clues, we’ve got a bad case of covid blues.”

The Gridiron dinner is a smaller, more elite precursor to the better-known White House Correspondents’ Association gathering in late April. That organization’s president, Steven Portnoy, said Monday night that the WHCA will require guests at its event to show a same-day negative coronavirus test to enter its dinner.

Portnoy spoke before news of the Gridiron outbreak emerged; he said Tuesday morning that the WHCA was meeting to review its covid protocols for the dinner. The president typically attends the event.

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The Washington Post’s Tyler Pager contributed to this report.