Meg Mclaughlin/Dispatch Argus via ZUMA
I’m a writer. Words are all I have to express myself. So what do you do when words literally fail you?
Trump administration pushing to block new money for testing, tracing and CDC in upcoming coronavirus relief bill
The Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill, people involved in the talks said Saturday.
….One person involved in the talks said Senate Republicans were seeking to allocate $25 billion for states to conduct testing and contact tracing, but that certain administration officials want to zero out the testing and tracing money entirely….Trump and other White House officials have been pushing for states to own more of the responsibility for testing and have objected to creating national standards, at times seeking to minimize the federal government’s role.
This is . . . what? Insanity? At a time when cases are rising, deaths are rising, and people are waiting up to a week to get testing results back, it flatly makes no sense. I can’t even think of anything to say about this. It’s beyond words.
POSTSCRIPT: Does this have something to do with Trump’s apparent belief that if we don’t test, we’ll have fewer cases? Are White House aides not even willing or able to push back against craziness of this magnitude anymore?
