White House to wind down coronavirus task force

President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force is in the early stages of winding down, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The meetings in the Situation Room have been shorter and they no longer meet every day, according to the two people. Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci are still expected to be at the White House on a daily basis, but other members of the task force may be less physically present. However, two separate sources familiar with the matter noted that the task force met on Tuesday.

The news was first reported by the New York Times.

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Trump tapped Vice President Mike Pence to lead the panel in late February, weeks after the first known case in the U.S. and a few days after the first publicly reported coronavirus-related death in the country.

The task force until recently held near-daily televised briefings and was often a lightning rod for controversy as the president often used the podium to blast critics, spar with reporters, and boast about his administration’s response as infection rates climbed.

The briefings also introduced the wider public to Fauci and Birx, two of the nation’s leading infectious disease doctors.

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The administration has faced lingering criticism over its coronavirus response. Trump has in recent weeks encouraged states to start easing restrictions put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus, despite warnings from health experts that reopening too soon could lead to more death and economic damage.

During an April teleconference with Pence, Democrats laid bare their deep-seated frustrations with the administration and the task force. During a call, for instance, with Maine Sen. Angus King, an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told Pence and the task force he has “never been so mad about a phone call in my life” and that the administration’s lack of national testing is “a dereliction of duty.”

source: nbcnews.com