Trump never told his HHS Secretary Alex Azar that he was replacing him with Mike Pence as the leader of the Coronavirus response.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who has been leading the coronavirus task force, was blindsided by the White House decision to put Vice President Pence in charge of the response to the virus outbreak, according to five people familiar with the situation, who said Azar learned of the decision only moments before the Wednesday evening press conference.
Pence is scheduled to run a coronavirus task force at HHS on Thursday, two sources familiar with the plans said. One senior administration official said Pence was going to HHS to lead the meeting, instead of the White House, “as a show of support to Azar.â€
Somebody had to take the fall for the stock market plummet, and Trump decided that Mike Pence is the person who can reassure Wall Street. The problem is that the decision to replace Azar with Pence is the latest to reveal that Trump is everything that Wall Street hates. Trump is chaos, instability, and erratic decisionmaking.
Trump doesn’t have the guts to tell his own staff when they are being demoted. Mike Pence isn’t going to lead a market rally. Suddenly, deciding that Pence is the guy to run the Coronavirus response does not make Trump look competent and in charge.
A pandemic is looming, and Trump is showing that he is in completely over his head.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
