White House Task Force To Disband, But Trump Will Retain Birx, Fauci As Pandemic Advisers
Public health experts were alarmed by President Donald Trump's decision to wind down its task force by the end of the month. "It's like disbanding the war cabinet in the middle of a war,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of public health at Georgetown University. Meanwhile, Trump says Dr. Anthony Fauci will testify in front of the Republican-led Senate, but not the Democratic-led House.
The Hill:
White House Plans To Scale Back Coronavirus Task Force
The White House is in the early stages of winding down its coronavirus task force, Vice President Pence's office confirmed Tuesday. The surprise decision comes as most states are preparing to loosen restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus, while a number of areas continue to see increases in new COVID-19 cases and deaths. Pence's office told reporters at a limited briefing that his plan is to scale back the task force's role by Memorial Day. Pence has been leading the task force since late February. (Samuels and Moreno, 5/5)
The New York Times:
Administration To Phase Out Coronavirus Task Force
Vice President Mike Pence, who has led the task force for two months, said it would probably wrap up its work around the end of the May, and shift management of the public health response back to the federal agencies whose work it was created to coordinate. Other administration officials said that under plans still in discussion, the White House would consult with medical experts on a more informal basis and that Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, would help oversee a group pushing for progress in developing a vaccine and treatments for the virus. (Weiland, Haberman and Sanger, 5/5)
Reuters:
White House To Wind Down Coronavirus Task Force As Focus Shifts To Aftermath: Trump
Trump said Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, doctors who assumed a high profile during weeks of nationally televised news briefings, would remain advisers after the group is dismantled. Fauci leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Birx was response coordinator for the force. “We can’t keep our country closed for the next five years,” Trump said, when asked why it was time to wind down the task force. (Holland and Mason, 5/5)
NPR:
Coronavirus Task Force To Wind Down Around Memorial Day
President Trump told reporters at an event in Phoenix Tuesday that the task force had done an "incredible job" boosting testing and ventilator production and now there is a shift in focus. "We're now looking at a little bit of a different form," he said, answering questions about why he was winding down the task force. "It's sort of a combination of safety and reopening, so we'll have something in a different form," Trump said, telling reporters that Drs. Birx and Anthony Fauci, who's director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, would remain involved, as would "other doctors and experts in the field." (Naylor, 5/5)
Politico:
White House Plots Breakup Of Coronavirus Task Force
Inside the White House, there has also been discussion of creating a new and smaller group to supplant the task force and focus on developing a vaccine and therapeutics. The new group would work closely with administration officials already involved in Operation Warp Speed, a program that aims to manufacture 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses by November and 300 million by next January. Pence on Tuesday described it as “a Manhattan Project-style effort.” (Orr, Cook and Ehley, 5/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
White House Discussing Phasing Out Coronavirus Task Force
Democrats criticized the decision, arguing that the task force is an essential part of the administration’s coronavirus response. “It is unthinkable that President Trump would shut down the main task force established to coordinate our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic while we are still in the midst of figuring out the health and economic implications of this pandemic,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said in a statement. “It is a shameful abdication of responsibility.” (Restuccia, 5/5)
The Hill:
Trump Ready To Turn Page On COVID-19, Despite Crisis-Level Cases
“It's like disbanding the war cabinet in the middle of a war,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of public health at Georgetown University. “It’s not like we’ve conquered COVID, and it’s not like it’s even on the downward trend.” Gostin questioned the benefits of allowing federal agencies to manage the response, citing high-profile issues in the past few months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) initial testing rollout was a debacle; the Food and Drug Administration has had difficulty regulating antibody tests and Health and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar has seen his influence wane. (Samuels, 5/5)
Politico:
Trump Says Fauci Will Testify Before Senate, Blasts House ‘Setup’
President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed Dr. Anthony Fauci would testify before the Senate in the coming days and defended his decision to block America’s top infectious disease expert from appearing before what he called the “Trump haters” in the House. “The House is a setup. The House is a bunch of Trump haters. They put every Trump hater on the committee. The same old stuff,” the president told reporters outside the White House, adding that Fauci “will be testifying in front of the Senate, and he looks forward to doing that.” (Forgey, 5/5)
