June 23, 2020

Trump COVID-19 Watch

Washington, DC - Elizabeth Warren is continuing her oversight of the Trump Administration's COVID-19 response. Government delivers best when its actions are fair, transparent and accountable. But President Donald Trump's approach to this crisis doesn't reflect those values.

After President Trump claimed he "slowed down" COVID-19 testing, Senators Warren, Schumer, Markey, and Blumenthal called for the Health and Human Services Inspector General to investigate. 

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General notified Senator Warren that they plan to initiate three investigations that will address specific concerns laid out by her and 9 Senate colleagues about the management and distribution of medical supplies by FEMA during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell confirmed to Senator Warren that the serious racial gaps in COVID-19 recovery are not a "not a healthy feature of our economy" after she asked him about the latest jobs numbers. 

  • Warren stressed that we cannot cut off help for people out of work -- like Senate Republicans are eager to do -- when we still have more than 20 million people out of work and the unemployment rate is still going up for Black Americans.

Senators Warren and Blumenthal and Representative Jayapal opened a probe into allegations of COVID-19 conflicts of interest affecting Vice President Mike Pence's Chief of Staff Marc Short and Dr. Moncref Slaoui, Head of Operation Warp Speed, the Administration's effort to speed up a vaccine.

Senator Warren and Representative Jan Schakowsky sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence requesting information regarding reports and whistleblower complaints that the Trump Administration rejected an offer from Prestige Ameritech to manufacture millions of N95 respirators even after the first COVID-19 case was detected in the U.S.

TODAY: Senators Warren and Booker opened an investigation into meatpackers' manipulation of COVID-19 crisis and scaremongering about domestic meant shortages to raise prices and exploit workers while they exported record amounts of product to China.

Senator Warren will question why the Senate HELP Committee is holding a hearing on preparing for "the next pandemic" instead of holding one about applying lessons learned to the current pandemic - and fast.

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