Many elected officials have told Americans for months to stay home and forego everything from religious gatherings and team sports to holiday dinners and even funerals to stem the spread of the coronavirus. And yet we keep seeing news reports about officials flouting their own rules with a nice dinner out or a trip. The rules just don’t seem to apply to America’s political class. Their refusal to abide by their own guidance is sowing chaos, uncertainty and resentment during a historic national crisis.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, head of President Donald Trump’s task force on the novel coronavirus, declared a public health emergency in response to the global outbreak of the pathogen.