Gov. Bobby Jindal calls on Obama administration to stop accepting flights from nations fighting Ebola

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) blasted President Barack Obama's response to the United States' first case of Ebola on Friday, saying the administration must "stop accepting flights from countries that are Ebola stricken."
"President Obama said it was 'unlikely' that Ebola would reach the U.S.," Jindal said in a press release reported by Talking Points Memo. "Well, it has, and we need to protect our people. But the Obama administration keeps saying they won't shut down flights. They instead say we should listen to 'the experts.'…How exactly would stopping the entry of people potentially carrying the Ebola virus be counterproductive? This seems to be an obvious step to protect public health in the United States."
White House officials held a briefing about the Ebola outbreak on Friday, reassuring Americans that the United States has responded to four decades' of Ebola scares, and that any flight bans could actually negatively effect the country's ability to send aid and help end the outbreak. "We know how to do this, and we will do it again," Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A Dallas hospital is treating Thomas Eric Duncan for Ebola, after the patient traveled to the United States from Liberia last month and tested positive for the virus. Fifty additional individuals who had contact with Duncan are being monitored, 10 of whom are considered at "high risk" of having been exposed to Ebola.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricing
Speed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firings
Speed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talks
Speed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security files
Speed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretary
Speed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffs
Speed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams case
speed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chief
Speed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published