Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Both Democrats And Republicans Upset With How Trump Administration Is Handling Coronavirus Threat
Politico: Coronavirus Triggers Swift Bipartisan Backlash Against Trump
The Trump administration confronted a new threat Tuesday in the mounting coronavirus crisis: a fierce bipartisan backlash amid contradictory statements from the federal government about the severity of the outbreak. Administration officials sought to swat away concerns their emergency request for $2.5 billion to address the outbreak was inadequate, even as some Republicans joined Democrats in criticizing the amount — and slamming a lack of transparency around efforts to contain the disease on U.S. soil. (Roubein and Ollstein, 2/25)
The Hill: Lawmakers Raise Alarms Over Trump Coronavirus Response
Lawmakers in both parties on Tuesday expressed growing alarm that the threat of coronavirus in the United States is serious, and that the Trump administration is not doing enough to fight it. Two Cabinet members at separate hearings were grilled over what lawmakers described as an insufficient response so far, while Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said the White House's budget request to handle the disease was lackluster. (Sullivan and Hellmann, 2/25)
The Associated Press: GOP And Dem Senators Voice Concerns About U.S. Virus Readiness
"If you low-ball something like this, you'll pay for it later," Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told Trump's top health official, HHS Secretary Alex Azar. The two faced each other at a budget hearing that turned into a forum for assessing U.S. readiness in the face of a rapidly evolving international health threat. Shelby said if the virus keeps spreading, "it could be an existential threat to a lot of people in this country." He chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee, which sets spending levels for federal agencies. (2/25)
The CT Mirror: Blumenthal, Murphy Say Trump Response To Coronavirus 'Too Little, Too Late'
As cases of coronavirus in the United States near 60, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy came out of a closed-door briefing on the disease Tuesday and said they are alarmed and disappointed by what they heard. In that briefing, and in a conference call with reporters afterward, U.S. health officials warned that the spread of coronavirus across the United States appears inevitable. (Radelat, 2/25)
ABC News: Pompeo Accuses China And Iran Of Censoring Information About Coronavirus Outbreaks
As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused the governments of China and Iran of censoring information about the outbreaks in their countries and putting the rest of the world at greater risk of its spread. The top U.S. diplomat's sharp tone towards Beijing was matched by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who told Congress on Tuesday that the world is not getting reliable data out of China on issues like mortality rates. (Finnegan, 2/25)
The Hill: Trump Defends Handling Of Coronavirus As Democrats Hit Him During Debate
President Trump defended his administration’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak as the 2020 Democratic contenders hammered him over his response at Tuesday night’s debate. “CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world. It was opposed by the Dems, ‘too soon’, but turned out to be the correct decision,” he tweeted, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Axelrod, 2/25)
The Washington Post: White House Struggles To Contain Public Alarm Over Coronavirus
Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told The Washington Post late Monday that investors should consider “buying these dips” in the stock market amid the coronavirus panic. The message was to take advantage of one-day slumps and “buy low.” After all, the Dow Jones industrial average had just fallen 1,032 points. President Trump tweeted similar guidance thousands of miles away in India. Less than 24 hours later, the Dow Jones industrial average would fall another 879 points, bringing Trump and Kudlow’s investment advice — at least in the short term — under greater scrutiny. (Stein and Dawsey, 2/25)
The Wall Street Journal: Global Stocks Extend Losses As Virus Fears Deepen
“Investors do not want to catch this falling knife,” said James Athey, a senior investment manager at Aberdeen Standard Investments. “The speed with which equities are declining here is something investors find very troubling. It’s hard to see people willing to step in and buy.” Brent crude, the benchmark for global oil prices, fell 1.1% to $53.67 a barrel. Industrial metals including copper also waned, while gold, which is considered a haven asset, was mostly flat. (Ping and Isaac, 2/26)
The New York Times: Coronavirus Shows The Problem With Trump’s Stock Market Boasting
There’s a reason most presidents are cautious when talking about the stock market. President Trump is learning it the hard way this week. He is, in effect, experiencing the downside of having spent the last three years personalizing much of what happens in the markets and the economy, saying that the soaring stock values under his watch are a reflection of his special ability, and a central part of his case for re-election in November. (Irwin, 2/26)
Bloomberg: Fed’s Clarida Says Too Soon To Speculate On Virus Spillover
It is “still too soon” to say whether the coronavirus outbreak will cause a material change in the U.S. outlook, said Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, signaling officials won’t be rushed to judgment on the need to cut interest rates. (Torres, 2/25)
Bloomberg: In Grip Of Coronavirus, Traders Pay Whatever It Takes For Safety
The price of safety has rarely looked so high across major asset classes. Confronted with the coronavirus, investors seem more than willing to pay it. U.S. Treasuries are trading close to their most expensive in history by at least one measure, while gold hit a seven-year high on Monday. The entire German yield curve dropped below zero the same day. (Worrachate, 2/25)
Bloomberg: Global Funds Load Up On Indian Stocks As Virus Shelter In Asia
India’s $2.1 trillion stock market is drawing increasing foreign investment as the country remains relatively unscathed from the coronavirus outbreak threatening lives and economies around the world. Fund management firms including Eastspring Investments and Northcape Capital are flagging the defensive qualities of India’s domestic-focused market amid softening energy prices and signs of an economic recovery. (Vishnoi, Mookerjee and Acharya, 2/25)
Politico: Break With China? Top Trump Aide Eyes An Opening With Coronavirus
Peter Navarro, the leading China critic in the Trump administration, is seizing the moment. The White House’s director of trade and manufacturing policy and the administration’s other China hawks are pushing to use the coronavirus crisis to press U.S. companies to end their dependence on foreign suppliers. It’s an outcome Navarro and other advocates of U.S. factories in the Trump administration have sought for the past three years — what they see as a core piece of President Donald Trump’s 2016 promise to bring manufacturing jobs back home. (Cassella, 2/26)
