Former White House Chief of Staff: Lack of Coronavirus Testing Is “Inexcusable”

Mick Mulvaney has criticized the lack of Coronavirus testing in the United States. The former White House chief of staff has broken with his former boss to highlight the issue.

Mulvaney wrote an op-ed for CNBC on Tuesday discussing the economy but also arguing that more needed to be done about testing for Covid-19.

“I know it isn’t popular to talk about in some Republican circles, but we still have a testing problem in this country,” Mulvaney wrote.

“My son was tested recently; we had to wait 5 to 7 days for results. My daughter wanted to get tested before visiting her grandparents, but was told she didn’t qualify.”

“That is simply inexcusable at this point in the pandemic.”

Mulvaney offered suggestions about what the country could do to better cope with the ongoing crisis, which has killed more than 135,000 Americans.

“We could also direct more money for research,” he said.

“Or more temporary hospital beds or therapeutics. If we are going to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars, let’s do it to treat the cause of our economic illness, not just the symptoms.”

Mulvaney also had a warning ahead of November’s election. President Donald Trump is facing harsh poll numbers and his former chief of staff had harsh words for Republicans.

“Elections, despite what too many politicians think, cannot be bought,” he wrote.

“But problems can be solved. As lawmakers consider the next stimulus, let’s hope they focus on the latter.”

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Darragh Roche

Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media