Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., slammed the choice of Vice President Mike Pence to lead the government's fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
Her comments came after President Donald Trump had designated Pence the point person in a new coronavirus prevention task force.
In tweets posted Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez called his selection "irresponsible."
She wrote:
"Mike Pence literally does not believe in science. It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic. This decision could cost people their lives. Pence's past decisions already have."
And in another tweet, she noted:
"As governor, Pence's science denial contributed to one of the worst HIV outbreaks in Indiana's history. He is not a medical doctor. He is not a health expert. He is not qualified nor positioned in any way to protect our public health."
She linked to a story posted by The Verge. That story cited a 2016 report by the HuffPost that Indiana's HIV outbreak was spurred by public health funding cuts and Pence's stance against needle exchanges.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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