White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has formed his own team of private industry representatives and government allies to help in the administration’s battle against the coronavirus.
But the team, dubbed by some as a “shadow task force” is adding confusion in the White House’s response to the coronavirus fight, The Washington Post is reporting.
Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is concentrating on attempting to set up drive-through testing sites with the aid of technology and retail executives, the newspaper noted.
However, some administration officials say they are confused by emails from private industry employees on Kushner’s team and are unsure of the exact role they play in the government’s response.
“We don’t know who these people are,” one senior official said. “Who is this? We’re all getting these emails.”
But Kushner defended his efforts. “We’re getting things done in record speeds and are doing everything possible to avoid damage and mitigate the negative impacts. In America, some of our best resources are in our private sector. The federal government is not designed to solve all our problems; a lot of the muscle is in the private sector and there’s also a lot of smart people.”
Kushner maintained he is “closely collaborating” with Vice President Mike Pence, who is heading the official task force. And Pence has dismissed concerns over Kushner’s efforts.
The New York Times reported this week that Kushner’s early involvement with dealing with the virus was advising Trump that the media’s coverage exaggerated the threat.
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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