In addition to running the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, Mike Pence now controls the government’s messaging about the disease. The New York Times reports that the White House has directed health officials and scientists to coordinate all public appearances and statements with the vice president before their release.
President Trump allegedly decided to put Pence in charge after he told people that his second-in-command “didn’t have anything else to do.”
Meanwhile, President Obama’s “ebola czar” ripped the White House for not allowing the nation’s leading infectious disease experts to comment about a public health crisis.
The Times writes the Trump administration had told Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, a renowned expert on epidemics and infectious diseases, not to reveal any new information without checking with the White House.
Pence has chosen Dr. Deborah L. Birx to serve as the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House. Birx was the director of the effort to combat the spread H.I.V. and A.I.D.S. in the U.S. for over three decades. The White House said in a statement that she will “bring her infectious disease, immunologic, vaccine research and interagency coordinating capacity to this position.”
From The Hill:
Birx’s appointment appeared to be aimed at appeasing critics who took issue with Pence’s lack of public health expertise. She will serve on the White House coronavirus task force and report to Pence, who will report to the president.
According to The Week, Health and Human Resources Secretary Alex Azar will remain chair of the government’s coronavirus task force. But the leadership shake-up will erode his role in directing the response to the crisis. Trump has said that he considers Azar too “alarmist” about the disease.
