Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed the White House’s move to restrict officials leading the nation’s coronavirus response from testifying before Congress. She suggested that the Trump administration “might be afraid of the truth.” 

On Monday, the Trump administration issued new guidance instructing coronavirus task force members not to accept invitations to participate in congressional hearings this month without the explicit approval by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. This came after the White House blocked Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, from testifying before a House committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday. 

Pelosi said Congress needs to hear from officials handling the pandemic response in order to help lawmakers determine how to allocate resources in upcoming coronavirus relief legislation effectively.

“The fact is that we need to allocate resources for this. In order to do that, any appropriations bill must begin in the House. And we have to have the information to act upon,” Pelosi said during an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

Pelosi also added that Meadows is aware that House Democrats will be “very, very strictly insisting on the truth.”

“And they might be afraid of the truth,” Pelosi said.

The White House insists that the reason for limiting officials’ appearances before Congress is so they can focus on response efforts rather than spending hours preparing for and giving sworn testimony on Capitol Hill.

“The demands on agencies’ staff and resources are extraordinary in this current crisis. Agencies must maximize their resources for COVID-19 response efforts and treat hearing requests accordingly,” the guidance says.

“Given these competing demands in these unprecedented times, it is reasonable to expect that agencies will have to decline invitations to hearings to remain focused on implementing of COVID-19 response, including declining to participate in multiple hearings on the same or overlapping topics,” it adds.

Thomas Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be speaking to the House Appropriations subcommittee instead.