Tag: Trump trying to hide COVID-19 facts from Americans

Trump administration pushing to block new money for testing, tracing and CDC in upcoming coronavirus relief bill

Washington Post logoWhite House posture angers some GOP senators who are trying to include billions of dollars in the bill

The Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill, people involved in the talks said Saturday.

The administration is also trying to block billions of dollars that GOP senators want to allocate for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and billions more for the Pentagon and State Department to address the pandemic at home and abroad, the people said.

The administration’s posture has angered some GOP senators, the officials said, and some lawmakers are trying to push back and ensure that the money stays in the bill. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal confidential deliberations, cautioned that the talks were fluid and the numbers were in flux. Continue reading.

Trump, Azar rebuke testimony of ousted vaccine official

The Hill logoHealth and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is sharply rebuking remarks from ousted federal vaccine official Rick Bright about the coronavirus response, saying his allegations “do not hold water.”

“Everything he is complaining about was achieved. Everything he talked about was done,” Azar, flanked by President Trump, told reporters on the White House lawn on Thursday before departing for a trip to a medical equipment distributor in Pennsylvania.

Azar sought to counter comments Bright made the same day before House lawmakers, warning of the “darkest winter in modern history” without a national play to fight the pandemic. Continue reading.