Anthony Fauci Contradicts Trump on ‘Slow the Testing’: ‘None Of Us’ Have Been Told to Do That
Dr. Anthony Fauci did an about-face on President Donald Trump’s recent coronavirus testing comments by saying neither he nor his colleagues have been told to slow testing down.
During a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Tuesday, Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) questioned Fauci by quoting Trump telling his Tulsa rallygoers “I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.‘” Pallone also noted that Trump doubled down on that statement after the White House repeatedly claimed his remarks were supposed to be a joke.
“Dr. Fauci, do you agree with that?” Pallone asked. “Does it make sense that, to safety open our economy, we should be limiting the number of tests rather than ensuring that anyone who needs a test can get one?”
“I, as a member of the task force, and my colleagues on the task force. To my knowledge — I know for sure, but to my knowledge — none of us have ever been told to slow down on testing. That just is a fact. In fact, we will be doing more testing,” Fauci answered. “So it’s the opposite. We’re going to be doing more testing, not less.”
Centers for Disease Control director Robert Redfield seconded Fauci by saying “all of us have been and continue to be committed to increasing readily, timely access to testing.” Shortly afterwards, the committee’s ranking Republican, Greg Walden (OR), asked Fauci and his colleagues to give a yes or no on whether Trump ordered a testing slowdown.
All of them answered no.
Watch above, via MSNBC.
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