Trump says US ‘prevailed’ with testing; White House officials will wear masks

Democratic senators prepare to toast top federal health officials at a much-anticipated coronavirus hearing scheduled for Tuesday, with much of the questioning centering on whether the nation is ready to reopen parts of the country which had been closed to contain the pandemic.

Among the topics the senators plan to raise at Tuesday’s hearing are supply chain issues for testing, how the federal government makes decisions about testing machines and testing capacity, and workplace safety standards for businesses choosing to reopen. Democrats also want to ask health officials about the administration’s testing measures and goals, and why it didn’t take some key steps sooner, according to interviews Monday with senators and aides.

“I’m interested in more of a prospective interview,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “I think there is going to be a commission and a very painful look, under the hood, at what went horribly wrong. Right now my condition is in crisis and we need answers on whether we are going to reopen safely. »

The hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will feature Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease official; Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Brett Giroir, deputy health secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services and responsible for coronavirus testing. All will testify by videoconference after Katie Miller, who is Vice President Pence’s press secretary and has regularly attended administration task force briefings, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the Democrat on the committee, plans to focus on reports that the White House interfered with the advice of public health experts and how the federal government will properly distribute a vaccine once it is finally developed.

Panel chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) plans to ask health officials what level of testing and other criteria states should meet to reopen schools, and what the administration will do to help states achieve this.

Alexander, whose office revealed he will self-quarantine in Tennessee for two weeks after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus, will participate in the hearing remotely.