Chuck Schumer Says Trump ‘Prolonging the Economic Crisis’ By Preventing Anthony Fauci from Testifying to House

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Thursday the Trump administration was “prolonging the economic crisis” by refusing to allow House Democrats to hold a hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“He doesn’t let his people come tell the truth. You know what that does? That prolongs the crisis,” Schumer told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle in an interview. “Until we get a handle on how we’re going to deal with the health issue, on how we’re going to really deal with these deep economic issues … we’re not going to accomplish what we want to accomplish, which is getting America back to work again.”

Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is scheduled to testify before the Senate Health, Education, and Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on May 12. However, the Trump administration last week blocked Fauci from testifying before a committee in the House. “The House is a setup,” President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “The House is a bunch of Trump haters.”

The Senate returned to session on Monday and will focus in the coming weeks on presidential nominees for key positions, including Rep. John Ratcliffe’s (R-TX) nomination to the intelligence community’s top post. Schumer groused about returning for those nominees, responding to a question from Ruhle about the Senate’s priorities, “You will have to ask [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell that. … He controls the Senate.”

Ruhle also asked Schumer whether the Senate should look at rules requiring more coronavirus testing in meat-processing facilities. Schumer did not respond directly to the question but said the Trump administration should use the Defense Production Act to require that more tests be manufactured.

“You can require businesses to do it, Stephanie, but if there aren’t enough tests, they won’t get them,” Schumer said. “Right now businesses, governors, mayors are scrambling for these tests. They call up companies. They try to make their own deals. They’re competing on price. We are short of the number of tests being manufactured.”

Watch above via MSNBC.

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