Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Thursday formally asked President Trump to appoint a military officer to oversee the federal government’s role in procuring and distributing goods in response to the escalating coronavirus epidemic.
Mr. Schumer said companies’ voluntary efforts to produce ventilators and equipment are welcomed but that America can’t rely on a “patchwork” system.
“It is long past the time for your administration to designate a senior military officer to fix this urgent problem,” Mr. Schumer wrote in a letter to Mr. Trump.
The president recently invoked the Defense Production Act to order General Motors to produce ventilators, but Mr. Schumer said the “full capacity” of American industry hasn’t yet been harnessed.
“That officer should be given full authority under the Defense Production Act (DPA) to complete and rapidly implement a plan for the increased production, procurement and distribution of critically-needed medical devices and equipment,” the senator said.
Mr. Schumer said White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who Mr. Trump has put in charge of coordinating the government’s DPA efforts, is “woefully unqualified” for the task.
“The existence of a separate ‘shadow’ effort elsewhere in the White House, led by equally inexperienced and unqualified people, has made the Administration’s response even more confused and uncoordinated,” he said.
That could be a reference to reports that White House adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner has tried to take a more leading role in the federal response to COVID-19 in recent weeks.
Mr. Trump had responded earlier to the call from Mr. Schumer, which the senator also made on MSNBC Thursday morning, by saying there already is a “military man” in charge of distributing goods.
Navy Rear Adm. John Polowczyk is leading the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) supply chain task force.
“Somebody please explain to Cryin’ Chuck Schumer that we do have a military man in charge of distributing goods, a very talented Admiral, in fact. New York has gotten far more than any other State, including hospitals & a hospital ship, but no matter what, always complaining,” the president said on Twitter.
“It wouldn’t matter if you got ten times what was needed, it would never be good enough,” the president continued. “Unlike other states, New York unfortunately got off to a late start. You should have pushed harder. Stop complaining & find out where all of these supplies are going. Cuomo working hard!”
