White House Blocks Fauci From Testifying Before Congress Draws Bipartisan Backlash

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White House Blocks Fauci From Testifying Before Congress Draws Bipartisan Backlash

Newly appointed White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the decision to prevent Anthony Fauci from appearing before a House panel and alleged that House Democrats were not acting “in good faith”, on Wednesday.

When faced with questions about the decision at an afternoon briefing, McEnany said that the House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey failed to provide a specific subject matter or purpose for the hearing with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

“The House, however, and specifically Chairwoman Nita Lowey’s committee, did not act in good faith,” McEnany asserted. “Those details were never received, and instead we got a press release. So that’s what we call a publicity stunt.”

These remarks came after President Trump told reporters that the White House would prevent Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, from appearing before the Democratic-controlled House because he believes it is full of “Trump haters”, on Tuesday.

Evan Hollander, a committee spokesman, said Trump “admitted” to blocking the top expert from testifying for political reasons and dismissed any other explanation as “spin.”

“You don’t have to be a Nobel Prize winner to understand why the House committee that funds health care programs wanted Dr. Fauci to appear at a hearing on coronavirus response,” Hollander said in a statement made via e-mail.

“President Trump already admitted that he blocked Dr. Fauci from testifying for political reasons, and any other comment from the White House is just spin,” he added.

Fauci’s absence from the hearing on Wednesday invited bipartisan rebuke, with lawmakers voicing their frustration with the decision.

“I want the record to show I joined the chairman urging that Dr. Fauci be allowed to testify here,” Representative Tom Cole the lead Republican on the House Appropriations labor and health subcommittee, said during the hearing. 

“I think it would have been good testimony, useful to this committee, and useful to this country. Frankly, I think going forward, this subcommittee, more than any other, is going to need administration input, expert input, as we make the important decisions in front of us,” he added. 

The Trump White House has now unveiled new guidance barring members of the coronavirus task force from accepting invitations to appear before congressional panels during the month of May unless Chief Of Staff Meadows signs off. 

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