CBS News: “…In private, Birx encouraged governors to disregard Mr. Trump’s dismissiveness of mask-wearing and his pressure to reopen the economy faster than federal health guidelines would permit.”
Holcomb Administration admitted they communicated with the Trump-Pence Administration about the national vaccine shortage last week
ICYMI: Eric Holcomb described his relationship with the Trump-Pence Administration as a “partnership” and being “helpful to Indiana”
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today called on Eric Holcomb to start being honest with Hoosiers after news reports found former Vice President Mike Pence created a part-time federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The news comes five days after the Holcomb Administration admitted they were aware of a federal vaccine supply shortage a week before the Trump-Pence Administration formally ended its term.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the only full-time staffer for the White House’s COVID-19 Task Force, revealed she held private meetings and conversations with governors to disregard public recommendations from the Trump-Pence Administration. Dr. Birx visited Indiana at least twice, once before the start of Indiana’s mask mandate in July and the other time in October when she visited the Statehouse.
“Governor Holcomb knew about the federal vaccine shortage and chose to stay silent. Now as Hoosiers learn Mike Pence created a part-time response to a worldwide pandemic, why didn’t Eric Holcomb speak up?” said Drew Anderson, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Governor Holcomb cannot brag about an exclusive ‘partnership’ with the Trump-Pence Administration if he’s unwilling to be held accountable after we learn the entire COVID-19 response — like Mike Pence’s career — was a rhetorical sham. Holcomb should be honest with Hoosiers now or forever break their trust once they learn the real facts.”
WHY IT MATTERS: In order for the nation to unite and come out of the pandemic together, all facts and data must establish the truth about the national COVID-19 relief effort. This fact-based truth shows not only did the federal government (led by Mike Pence) fail at protecting Americans from COVID-19, but Governor Holcomb was also complicit to the problem by hiding important news from Hoosiers and painting a rosy relationship with the Trump-Pence Administration as a “partnership” being “helpful to Indiana”.
It’s now no secret that Mike Pence has now gone 0-2 when leading a response to a public health crisis. Here’s how Dr. Deborah Birx, Pence’s deputy, described the Trump-Pence Administration’s COVID-19 Task Force:
CBS News: “Dr. Deborah Birx, the former White House coronavirus response coordinator under former President Donald Trump, revealed that she had no full-time team in the White House working on the response to COVID-19 under the former president.” […]
“’There was no team, full-time team in the White House working on coronavirus,’ she told ‘Face the Nation,’ adding that she did ask for more staff…” […]
“Pence, meanwhile, was also given no additional White House staff, and his existing team worked on the COVID-19 response.” […]
“…In private, Birx encouraged governors to disregard Mr. Trump’s dismissiveness of mask-wearing and his pressure to reopen the economy faster than federal health guidelines would permit.” […]
“’That was the place where people would let me say what needed to be said about the pandemic, both in private with the governors and then in following up, doing press to talk to the people of that state,’ she said.
Birx said that she felt her science-based guidance was being censored by the White House and that she was being deliberately blocked from appearing on national media outlets for a time. By driving herself cross-country to meet face-to-face with governors, Birx said she could deliver her guidance and also understand why local leaders might be disregarding it.” […]
As for whether Pence was aware of Birx’s conversations with governors, the senior adviser to the former vice president told CBS News “he was supportive of the process but did not have a great level of detail.”
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