Congressional Republicans are planning their own probe into the coronavirus outbreak – examining how the World Health Organization and Chinese government responded to the pandemic from the onset.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee, led by Chairman Ron Johnson R-Wis., will conduct a “wide-ranging” oversight investigation into the origins of the virus and the WHO’s response to the virus, according to a committee source familiar with the matter.
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he was halting funding to the organization for having fumbled the response to the pandemic by failing to challenge the Chinese government’s early accounts of how the virus was spreading. “The outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death,” Trump said.
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Senator Rick Scott, R-Fl., who called for an investigation into the WHO two weeks ago, was tasked by Johnson with taking the lead on that aspect of the probe, a source close to Scott told NBC News.
A letter sent Tuesday to WHO Director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus from Senators Scott, Johnson and others, is “the first step in that process,” according to a spokesperson for Scott. In the letter, the Senators ask for information “regarding the WHO’s failed and delayed response to the coronavirus ahead of an anticipated Congressional hearing.”
The probe comes as the economy is in free fall and Republicans are looking to remain in control of the White House and the Senate in the November election. President Trump’s campaign is already calling Joe Biden “weak on China” in fundraising emails.
The probe will also include other elements such as looking into why the national stockpile wasn’t “better prepared” and why pharmaceutical ingredients and medical devices are manufactured overseas, as first reported by Politico and confirmed to NBC News by an aide to Johnson. Trump has already blamed his predecessors for not maintaining that stockpile adequately.
There are also other probes emerging. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Id., last week called for an “independent investigation into the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 response.”
Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee Chairman Todd Young, R-Ind., wrote to Ghebreyesus days ago asking that he appear in a hearing once it was safe to do so. Young also signed on to the letter sent today.
Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo. who called for an investigation into the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) two weeks ago, announced a bill on Tuesday to “hold the CCP responsible for causing the COVID-19 global pandemic.”
He also joined Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., days ago in introducing a bicameral act that would “authorize the president to sanction foreign officials who suppress or distort information about international public health crises.”
In the House, Republicans on the Oversight Committee also wrote to Ghebreyesus, requesting information on the WHO’s relationship with China and accusing the organization of helping them “spread dangerous propaganda during the course of the coronavirus pandemic.”
The Democratic-controlled House, meanwhile, announced a select committee to investigate the federal response to the pandemic earlier this month. “The committee will be empowered to examine all aspects of the federal response to the coronavirus, and to assure that the taxpayer dollars are being wisely and efficiently spent to save lives, deliver relief and benefit our economy,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said when it was announced.
Dareh Gregorian contributed.
