There will be a notable omission when Vice President Mike Pence visits Washington state Thursday as part of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response: health Secretary Alex Azar.
The White House on Wednesday also benched Azar from a coronavirus task force press briefing, the latest sign of diminished standing for an official who was the face of the U.S. response to the disease just a week ago.
Four of Azar’s deputies — including Medicare chief Seema Verma and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Steve Hahn, who were both added to the task force after Pence took over the federal response — joined the vice president and other officials at the White House on Wednesday. Continue reading.