Senate Democrats unloaded on Vice President Mike Pence during a conference call over the lack of adequate availability of coronavirus testing.
Leigh Ann Caldwell of NBC News reported:
It was extremely explosive, chuck there was just this growing frustration among Democrats especially on this issue of testing. And this is the second time in two days that we heard from Democrats who got to speak with administration officials today. It was Vice President Pence in the white house task force member, including Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx. But then yesterday President Donald Trump held a call with a bipartisan group of members of the House and the Senate where testing was also a big issue. And they’ve expressed their frustration now two days in a row. They’re not getting the answers they want.
We’re told that senator Angus King of Maine, he is an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, he said that it was a dereliction of duty that the administration has not implemented a nationwide testing regime. And I think that days and days of not getting adequate answers and the president really blowing off this entire issue of testing, instead of focusing on wanting to reopen the government, they just couldn’t take it anymore, and they expressed their frustration.
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Video:
Senate Democrats explode on Mike Pence over the lack of coronavirus testing. pic.twitter.com/WCQgsSIOza
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 17, 2020
Trump has completely blown off testing. The President and Vice President think that they can lie their way around having to perform adequate testing before the economy can reopen. Democrats have had enough. Someone needs to call out this administration, because in states like Pennsylvania, drive up testing sites can only perform 100 tests a day.
The situation is not adequate for public safety and Trump’s failure on testing means that the coronavirus will be with us for a long time to come.
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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
