Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) knew that Friday's Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing was a farce, even based on the name. The Democrats' title, "The Urgent Need for a National Plan to Contain the Coronavirus," suggested that the Trump administration didn't have one. That was probably news to the witnesses, Dr. Anthony Fauci, CDC Director Robert Redfield, and Admiral Brett Giroir, who have been working on plans to defeat the virus and prepare the country to reopen for months.
"That's not the title of a hearing, that's a political narrative," Scalise observed. "And a false political narrative at that."
Chairman James Clyburn (D-SC) kicked off the hearing by sharing his regret that six months after the first reported U.S. coronavirus death, the federal government "has still not developed a national strategy to protect the American people." The administration, he argued, has "failed" in several areas, including on testing.
By the time it was the ranking member's turn to speak, he had already heard enough.
"You wouldn't even be here today if there wasn't a plan," Scalise told the witnesses. "Because you are the people tasked with carrying out the plan."
For hard evidence, Scalise held up the thousands of pages documenting the administration's efforts to help states and schools safely reopen, such as their "Opening Up America Again" initiative, as well as instruct nursing homes how to properly care for their residents.
?? Dems are using the Coronavirus Committee to play politics & attack @realDonaldTrump.
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) July 31, 2020
They're holding a hearing on the "need for a national plan"—yet have experts who wrote thousands of pages of plans testifying. ??
Did Dems not read them? Or are they choosing to ignore them? pic.twitter.com/XeNwVCt1L2
On testing, Scalise marveled that thanks to leadership from the HHS, we are now administering over 800,000 tests a day. He predicts it will soon be over 1 million.
He also noted the "remarkable speed" we've made on vaccines. Right now, three candidates are in Phase 3, the last stage of development, under Operation Warp Speed.
Scalise suggested that perhaps people are too busy reading tweets than these actual plans.