Elizabeth Warren calls to investigate Trumps politicization of Covid-19 – Vox.com

President Trump has made every aspect of his response to Covid-19 political, from his resistance to mask-wearing to his insistence on reopening schools to his sparring with Democratic governors over lifesaving tests and personal protective equipment.

His administration has even been accused of scrapping a nationwide testing plan after a team convened by Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner determined that the epidemic would hit blue states the hardest and Democratic governors could be blamed for it.

Now, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is calling for an investigation of Trumps politicization of the virus and the unnecessary death and damage it may have caused. In a letter sent on Tuesday and obtained by Vox exclusively ahead of publication, Warren and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Edward Markey (D-MA) write that President Trump and his advisors have repeatedly put their partisan political interests ahead of the health and welfare of the American people.

They detail a host of allegations, including reports that Trump pressured the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to weaken its recommended restrictions for reopening churches, and that he agreed to pay for National Guard troops in only two states, Florida and Texas, because their governors made special, direct cases to the President.

Echoing a call that Warren, Blumenthal, and Markey first made in April, the senators ask the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), an oversight body created by the CARES Act, to investigate the Trump administrations conduct.

Its unclear whether the PRAC will take up such an investigation or what effect it would have the committee has not responded publicly to the senators April letter. And Trump has already intervened in the operations of the group, removing its leader in April after citing nonspecific reports of bias.

Still, the senators letter adds to the chorus of voices charging that the president has turned a national crisis into an opportunity for political gain, effectively leaving tens of thousands of Americans to die.

Americans are seeking trustworthy, objective information and leadership to help them navigate this unprecedented crisis, but the administrations repeated prioritization of President Trumps political interests calls into question the integrity of every action of the federal government, they write. It will be impossible to develop an effective federal response until this partisan interference is addressed and public trust can be restored.

In addition to a call for an investigation, the letter by Warren and colleagues also serves as a public indictment of the presidents Covid-19 response, during which he has admitted to punishing those he sees as critical of him. These are just some of the ways the senators say the president has put politics ahead of American lives:

Its not clear whether the letter will actually lead to an investigation. Established under the CARES Act to monitor the spending of pandemic relief funds, the PRAC released a report in June warning of delays in processing tax refunds at the IRS and potential fraud in Small Business Administration loans, among other issues. However, its work may have been stymied early on when Trump removed from his position Glenn Fine, an inspector general who had been the PRACs chair.

According to the New York Times, Trump did not give a specific reason for the removal, calling it part of a larger reshuffling response to reports of bias, among other issues. But Democrats at the time raised concern that Trump was meddling with the oversight panel, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warning that the president was abusing the coronavirus pandemic to eliminate honest and independent public servants because they are willing to speak truth to power and because he is so clearly afraid of strong oversight.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has defended its response to the Covid-19 crisis. The White House has not responded to Voxs request for comment for this story, but spokesperson Sarah Matthews previously told Voxs German Lopez that Trump has led an historic, whole-of-America coronavirus response following expert advice, and that this strong leadership will continue.

The senators letter, however, tells a different story. And whether or not the PRAC ever takes up the call to investigate, the document remains an enumeration of the ways the Trump administration appears to have ignored or actively disregarded science and public health, and the American people have suffered as a result.

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Elizabeth Warren calls to investigate Trumps politicization of Covid-19 - Vox.com