The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will close down its coronavirus pandemic task force Wednesday, according to an internal memo that was shared with Politico.
The responsibilities of the task force, which has been on the front lines battling the coronavirus by overseeing and distributing global aid related to the pandemic, will be dispersed among other agency bureaus and divisions.
The decision to shut down the task force comes as the Trump administration has been downplaying the pandemic during the election campaign, including halting its regular news conferences focused on the crisis and largely sidelining the interagency coronavirus task force, according to Politico.
One Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concerns to Politico about how other units within the USAID would fight against the pandemic without a task force to coordinate.
However, a USAID official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the task force was, in any case, not operating efficiently, because it was too large and bureaucratic.
The decision to close down the task force also come as USAID faces internal turmoil on multiple fronts, including among its personnel, and at a time when the agency is already in the midst of restructuring.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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