There is a report claiming a national coronavirus testing plan was scrapped by the administration to hurt Democratic states, and Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir has something to say about it.
When asked about the report during a Fox News interview on Friday, Giroir, who leads the nation’s coronavirus testing, responded by calling the report “so preposterous.”
“I have never heard something so preposterous as we’re not going to do a national plan because it’s affecting Democratic states,” he said.
He also said, “We were all working together, there was no separation or no closet Cabinet or no super-secret kind of plans. We all worked together.”
Giroir went on to note that he has talked with leaders in Democratic states “morning, afternoon, and night,” adding that the administration has been working “on everyone’s behalf.”
“We sent resources where they need to be sent,” he continued. “We worked tirelessly, so I would like to put that to rest because I think it’s just… It’s really ridiculous and it just foments mistrust in the public health system when we really do need trust.”
Giroir added, “We are all working for everyone’s benefit.”
See his remarks below:
The White House Coronavirus Task Force members testified on The Hill this morning.
— The Daily Briefing (@dailybriefing) July 31, 2020
Assistant Secretary for Health ADM Brett P. Giroir joins #DailyBriefing to discuss the hearing and combating the virus.@HHS_ASH pic.twitter.com/QSduR9H8J8
The Vanity Fair published an article on Thursday, where it reported that the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner’s “team expressed: that because the virus had hit blue states hardest, a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically.”
An expert told Vanity Fair, “The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also said in a statement in response to the article, “The article consistently misstates and misrepresents. The article is completely incorrect in its assertion that any testing was stopped for political or other reasons.”
