Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fauci Returns To White House Amid Swipes At His Reputation
A day after President Trump鈥檚 press office tried to undermine the reputation of the nation鈥檚 top infectious disease expert with an anonymously attributed list of what it said were his misjudgments in the early days of the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci returned to the White House on Monday. The visit underscored a reality for both men: They are stuck with each other. (Shear and Weiland, 7/13)
As the novel coronavirus spreads across the country -- leading to record numbers of cases and increased deaths in several states -- President Donald Trump shared a message on Twitter Monday saying doctors and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are "lying." Then, after promoting a message critical of the nation鈥檚 foremost infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trump later in the day said he liked Fauci 鈥減ersonally.鈥 (Gittleson, 7/13)
Asked whether the president still had confidence in (Dr. Anthony) Fauci, a White House official on Monday insisted Trump did. The official said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was regarded as 鈥渁 valued voice鈥 on the White House coronavirus task force. The official spoke on condition of anonymity even though the president has repeatedly railed against anonymous sources. (Lemire and Miller, 7/14)
Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Monday ascribed the surge in U.S. coronavirus cases to the country鈥檚 failure to shut down completely, then a rush to reopen too soon, and urged a commitment to guidelines to snuff out the disease. He stressed basic protections including physical distancing, wearing masks, avoiding crowds and washing hands. (7/13)
Meanwhile, the Biden campaign weighs in聽 鈥
Former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign on Monday slammed聽the Trump administration's recent attacks on the nation's top infectious聽disease聽expert, Anthony Fauci, as "disgusting" on Monday." Over 135,000 Americans have lost their lives and tens of millions have lost their jobs because Donald Trump spent the last six months disastrously mismanaging the worst public health crisis in a century, the whole time failing to heed the warnings and guidance of medical experts -- particularly Dr. Fauci," Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement to reporters.聽(Manchester, 7/13)