Red hat disappears from CDC director’s bookshelf during remote testimony after social media speculation

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CDC's Redfield names 3 'essential' keys needed to reopen America

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield provides an overview of the CDC's response to coronavirus including rapid testing and surveillance

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sat in front of a bookcase with a red hat on display as he testified before Congress Tuesday, prompting speculation on social media that it could possibly be a Trump campaign "Make America Great Again" hat after it was removed from the shot.

But a CDC spokesperson told Fox News the hat is actually a Denison University hat, and it was removed because it "looked like it was sitting on [Redfield's] head."

On Tuesday morning, the hat could be seen resting on a bookshelf beside books and family photos. Later in Redfield’s testimony, the hat was nowhere to be seen.

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President Trump appointed the leading virologist to direct the CDC in 2018. Redfield, along with Dr. Anthony Fauci and FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, are in self-quarantine after having contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus at the White House.

All three officials, along with Adm. Brett Giroir of Health and Human Services, were set to testify before the Senate Health Committee this week about reopening the country amid coronavirus. They are testifying by videoconference, a one-time exception to the administration's policies on hearing testimony.

Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., asked Redfield about the CDC guidelines for reopening the economy, which have been leaked and reportedly rejected by the Trump administration. Redfield said the guidance was going through “inter agency review” and would be posted online “soon.”

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Fox News obtained a draft proposal of CDC guidelines for a phased reopening of the economy last month. It contained more detailed suggestions beyond the reopening guidelines the White House released, including specific suggestions for schools and churches.

Meanwhile, Dr. Antony Fauci warned of possible “outbreaks” of coronavirus in regions that jump over “checkpoints” laid out in the Trump administration's coronavirus recovery plan.

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Fauci warned that prematurely lifting coronavirus restrictions closing schools and businesses and limiting travel would lead to "suffering and death" and "turn the clock back instead of going forward."