Pompeo bringing back 'Madison Dinners' mid-pandemic

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/pompeo-bringing-back-madison-dinners-mid-pandemic-n1239986

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is quietly relaunching his extravagant, taxpayer-funded "Madison Dinners" during the coronavirus pandemic, even as Congress scrutinizes his use of government resources to entertain CEOs, big-dollar Republican donors and television anchors.

Pompeo's Madison Dinners, which an NBC News investigation revealed in May, had been on pause since March, when the country shut down because of the coronavirus. But now they're back, with a dinner scheduled for Monday and at least three others on the calendar in September and October, two U.S. officials said.

This time, Pompeo even initially arranged to hold Monday's dinner at Blair House, the presidential guest house just steps from the White House. It was only at the last minute that the dinner was moved back to the State Department because Blair House became unavailable.

It's unclear what coronavirus precautions, if any, are being taken, particularly considering that the dinner will be indoors and guests presumably won't be wearing masks while eating and drinking. A State Department official said guests had been encouraged to get COVID-19 tests before the dinner but was unsure whether that was mandatory.

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