Trump Coronavirus Response: White House Task Force Members Barred From Giving Congressional Testimony In May

Members of the White House coronavirus task force are barred from providing testimony before Congress this month, according to guidance issued Monday by the Trump administration. Notable members of the task force include director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci along with Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx.

“We’re telling agencies that during this unprecedented time our resources need to be dedicated toward the coronavirus. At this stage we really need everybody manning their stations and prioritizing coronavirus response work,” a senior administration official told The Hill about the guidance.

The move comes after the White House blocked testimony by Fauci in front of a House panel. Fauci’s data-driven and scientific approach to the pandemic has sometimes conflicted with Trump, with the White House downplaying the virus in the early stages of the outbreak and pushing for states to reopen against expert opinion. Last month, Trump retweeted a post that called for Fauci to be fired, although he denied that he wanted to remove Fauci from his position.

Trump has been criticized for a lack of transparency in his coronavirus response. Last month, he removed the inspector general set to monitor spending from the $2 trillion CARES Act stimulus package.

The United States currently has the most coronavirus cases in the world. As of Monday at 5:10 p.m. ET, there are 1,176,906 cases of the virus in the U.S., with the domestic death toll at 68,387.