Analysis: Senate Republicans Took Big Checks From Big Banks Weeks Before Co-Sponsoring Resolution to Protect $41 Credit Card Late Fees
New Reports Show Massive Big Pharma Influence-Peddling to Stop President Biden’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
Accountable.US Endorses Legislation to Create Supreme Court Ethics Accountability
Biden Land Rule Restores Balance to Management of Public Resources
Financial Committee Republicans Put Big Bank Donors Before Consumers in Vote to Block Credit Card Late Fee Cap
Site Menu

Lawmakers Called Trump’s Failures on Testing and Relief Funds “An American Fiasco”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, following news of the U.S. reaching the devastating landmark of nine million COVID-19 case, the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis released a new report slamming the Trump administration for its mismanaged, failed response to the pandemic. The interim report, which chastises the administration’s work on the crisis as being “among the worst failures of leadership in American history,” highlights failures to accurately convey the threat of the virus to the public, to make testing accessible in order to curb the virus’ spread, and to get essential relief funds in the hands of workers and small businesses, instead bailing out large corporations and funneling funds to fraudsters due to a widespread lack of transparency.  

“While small businesses, workers, and communities cried out for support during this crisis, President Trump and his administration tuned them out to listen to wealthy corporations clamoring for taxpayer-funded bailouts,” said Kyle Herrig, president of government watchdog Accountable.US. “As this crisis worsens, it appears that the Trump administration is giving up on getting the American people the help they need.” 

KEY POINTS FROM THE REPORT: 

  • The Select Subcommittee On The Coronavirus Crisis Found That The Trump Administration’s “Failed Response To The Pandemic Caused A Public Health Catastrophe,” With More Than 227,000 Americans Killed By The Virus And 8.8 Million Infected. “The Trump Administration’s Failed Response to the Pandemic Caused a Public Health Catastrophe […] As of October 28, 2020, more than 227,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, and 8.8 million have been infected.” [Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, October 2020]
     
  • The Report Projected That Coronavirus Was Likely To Be The Third Highest Cause Of U.S. Deaths In 2020, Following Only Heart Disease And Cancer. “The coronavirus is set to be the third-highest cause of death in the United States this year, behind only heart disease and cancer.” [Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, October 2020]
     
  • The Subcommittee’s Report Found That The Trump Administration “Failed To Protect Millions Of Americans In Financial Distress,” With The Economy Losing $16 Trillion Through The Crisis And A Record-Breaking 60 Million Unemployment Claims. “The Trump Administration Failed to Protect Millions of Americans in Financial Distress […] The nation’s economic crisis is a direct result of the ongoing public health crisis, and the Trump Administration’s failures to contain the coronavirus made the economic crisis more severe and protracted. […] Since February 2020, the economy has lost $16 trillion due to lost economic output, premature deaths, and health impairments caused by the pandemic. More than 60 million unemployment claims have been filed—more than at any other time in American history.” [Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, October 2020]
     
  • The Report Found That The Trump Administration “Prioritized Wall Street Over Main Street,” By Prioritizing Bigger Businesses And Leaving Federal Relief Programs Open To Waste, Fraud, And Abuse. “The Trump Administration Prioritized Wall Street Over Main Street and Left Federal Relief Programs Vulnerable to Fraud […] the Select Subcommittee’s investigations show that the Trump Administration weakened these programs by prioritizing larger and wealthier businesses over truly struggling small businesses, exacerbating inequity in the economic downturn. The Administration also failed to institute adequate financial controls, leading to significant fraud, waste, and abuse.” [Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, October 2020]
     
  • The Report Found The Trump Administration Had A “Pattern Of Political Interference” In Pandemic Response Efforts, With 47 Instances Of “Sidelining Top Scientists And Undermining Americans’ Health To Advance The President’s Partisan Agenda.” “The Trump Administration’s Pattern of Political Interference in the Nation’s Coronavirus Response […] On October 2, 2020, the Subcommittee published a list of 47 separate instances of political interference by the Administration from February through September 2020—including repeatedly overruling and sidelining top scientists and undermining Americans’ health to advance the President’s partisan agenda. The apparent goal of this unprecedented, coordinated attack on our nation’s public health agencies during the pandemic was, in the President’s words, to ‘play it down.’” [Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, October 2020] 

###

back to top