Committee Overseeing COVID-19 Crisis Calls Trump’s Response ‘Among the Worst Failures of Leadership’

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis is releasing a report detailing its assessment of President Donald Trump’s response to the outbreak.

“The Select Subcommittee’s findings demonstrate that the Trump Administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is among the worst failures of leadership in American history,” the introduction to the report reads.

It added, “The virus is a global scourge, but it has been an American fiasco, killing more people in the United States than in any other country. President Trump’s decision to mislead the public about the severity of the crisis, his failure to listen to scientists about how to keep Americans healthy, and his refusal to implement a coordinated national plan to stop the coronavirus have all contributed to devastating results: more than 227,000 Americans dead, more than 8.8 million Americans infected, and a dangerous virus that continues to spread out of control nine months after it reached our nation’s shores.”

The committee criticized the Trump administration for failing to “implement a national plan on testing, contact tracing, public health measures, and protective equipment.”

Democrats accused the president of leaving it up to state and local governments to support themselves.

The committee suggested there have been at least 61 instances in which the administration “injected politics” in decisions made by public health officials.

Democrats acknowledged the economic effects Trump’s response has had on Americans.

According to the report, 9 million Americans were still waiting to receive their $1,200 CARES Act checks as of September.

“This report exhaustively documents what has long been clear: the Trump Administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis has been a tragic failure,” said Select Subcommittee Chairman James E. Clyburn in a statement.

He added, “The work of the Select Subcommittee has identified numerous ways in which the pandemic and its impacts could be combated more effectively, efficiently, and equitably—but the Administration has refused to do what is necessary to control the virus and mitigate its economic damage.”

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) issued his own response to the report.

“Democrats’ latest partisan report issued just days before the election underscores how they’ve used the Select Subcommittee to attack President Trump and politicize the pandemic to the detriment of the American people,” Scalise said in a statement.

He continued, “Contrary to the Democrats’ baseless claims, the facts clearly show that President Trump’s leadership during this unprecedented pandemic has our country on a path to a full recovery.”