Trump campaign veteran Michael Caputo is being installed as the Health and Human Services Department’s new spokesperson.
Caputo confirmed the move to Politico on Wednesday.
“I am honored to serve the president to the best of my abilities in this time of crisis and, in so doing, the American people,” he said.
Politico said the positioning of Caputo is designed to give the White House more control over HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Two sources say the White House believes Azar was responsible for critical reports about how President Donald Trump has handled the coronavirus crisis.
Trump had called out Azar on Sunday following a New York Times report that stated Azar had warned Trump of the possibility of a pandemic on Jan. 20.
The president called the story “fake” and said Azar “told me nothing until later.”
In a Wednesday tweet, Azar welcomed Caputo to HHS. He wrote: “I’m delighted to have Michael Caputo join our team at @HHSGOV as our Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, especially at this critical time in our nation’s public health history.”
Politico describes Caputo as “an intense Trump loyalist.” It said his recent book, “The Ukraine Hoax,” claimed there was a conspiracy behind Trump’s impeachment. And CNN noted Caputo and Trump have known each other since 2013. Caputo joined the Trump presidential campaign in 2015.
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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