White House blocks Fauci from testifying at House coronavirus hearing
The Trump administration agreed to the creation of a separate oversight panel as part of the $2 trillion rescue plan passed in March. But Trump removed the inspector general keeping an eye on how the administration handles the historic spending only days after the official, Glenn Fine, was appointed.
Fauci, a longtime government official, has been seen as a steady presence during the crisis — in contrast to a president who has frequently shared inaccurate or misleading information during administration briefings on the outbreak. Last month, Trump retweeted a social media user calling to “#FireFauci” after the health official said the U.S. “obviously” could have saved more lives if it moved more quickly to contain the virus.
Fauci later joined Trump at a press briefing to say he used “the wrong choice of words.”
He is one of the more trusted voices on the pandemic, according to a CNBC/Change Research poll taken last month. In six states — Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — 76% of respondents said they trust Fauci “a lot” or “some” to decide when the economy should reopen, versus only 24% who said they trust him “not very much” or “not at all.”
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/01/anthony-fauci-blocked-from-testifying-at-house-coronavirus-hearing.html