Trump has long insisted that the primary responsibility lies with the states in managing the pandemic. Kushner made his claim during his first appearance at the daily White House briefing, a moment meant to highlight his growing role in managing the federal response to the pandemic, particularly in delivering vital supplies. Officials at the agency said the change had been in the works for weeks, downplaying any connection to Kushner's comments. Instead, they’re spending valuable time editing the Strategic National Stockpile website.” Diana DeGette, D-Colo., called the website alteration “despicable” and said the administration “should be spending every waking moment getting life-saving supplies to our health care providers on the frontlines. The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available."ĭemocratic senators, including Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, demanded an immediate investigation into the stockpile.
Many states have products stockpiled, as well. “When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency."īut the changed version available Friday morning said the stockpile's “role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. Until Friday, the federal Health and Human Services website had described the stockpile as “the nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out. In new guidance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to wear masks in crowded areas, particularly in hot spots, but Trump immediately said that he would not personally follow the recommendation. The president also directed FEMA to prevent export of the N95 masks under the Defense Production Act. Trump on Friday touted the number of supplies it was sending to the states, including 8.1 million masks to New York. It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.”Īnd asked what Kushner meant by “our stockpile,” Trump snapped at a reporter, “You know what our means: United States of America.our. The alteration of the language describing the stockpile was reflected on government websites on Friday, a day after Kushner, a White House senior adviser who has taken a larger role in the coronavirus response, offered a new argument about the supplies.Īfter saying that states should use their own stockpiles first, Kushner on Thursday said, “And the notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile. He sparred with reporters and insisted his administration was "doing our best for New York,” the pandemic's epicenter, even as Governor Andrew Cuomo warns the state is in danger of not having enough ventilators to help patients stricken with coronavirus in a matter of days. Trump angrily defended the approach in his Friday news conference, his early sunny demeanor darkening as he was pressed on expected death rates and his son-in-law Jared Kushner's comments suggesting the national stockpile is not intended for states.
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