Trump administration might consolidate pandemic response at State Department

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

Aides to President Donald Trump are considering a plan to shift the government’s global response to future infectious disease outbreaks to a new unit inside the State Department, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.

The proposal, discussed during a National Security Council deputies committee meeting on Thursday, already has set off a turf battle between the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID officials were surprised and perplexed by the idea, which could lead them to lose control of significant funds and authorities.

People familiar with the issue say Dr. Deborah Birx, a top official handling the administration’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, is likely to wind up in charge of the new unit if it becomes a reality. The proposal also could, to some degree, establish an alternative mechanism to some of the work done by the World Health Organization, whose U.S. funding Trump has threatened to permanently end.

The overall effort, first reported by the media platform Devex, is described as the President’s Response to Outbreaks, or PRO.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/22/trump-coronavirus-state-department-275139?cid=apn

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Sure. Pandemics state department. CDC ambassadorships. WTF? He has NO CLUE

what he is doing.

[brooklynite]

2. It's basically an attempt to replace WHO...

...with an international group under US control.

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Pompeo will weaponize the Federal Response....against Blue States, in favor of the Red States..

Pompeo will do the dirty and Trump's response will be to talk to Mike.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. And Birx has apparently been mainlining the Kool-aid.

Interesting that it did not take us long to see right thru the idea. so at least we are getting wiser.
Or more suspicious....same thing.

[brewens]

4. Time to rearrange the deck chairs on the Trumptanic. n/t

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

9. Aim higher. It's the Trump administration.

It's time to rearrange the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.

[FloridaBlues]

5. That would be the worse place utter disaster

[msongs]

6. "might", "likely to", "could" is speculation not news IMO nt

[brooklynite]

7. " according to documents obtained"

I’ll go with that for now/

[Efilroft Sul]

8. When the going gets bad, the bad turn PRO.

But the real question everyone should ask is, "What pandemic response?!"

[Captain Zero]

10. Pompeo getting more power and MONEY to seed things

Everytime Pompeo talks about leaving he suddenly gets more. Seems like to me.
Pompeo is building an oligarchy over at State Dept. which will fund things in orivate sphere that just happen to put a little cash in Pompeo's pockets? I'm betting yes.

[Efilroft Sul]

11. Certainly can't rule out the possibility.

[TeamPooka]

12. Covid-19 RSVP'd for the event too.

[Retrograde]

14. Don't we already have a department of health

which should be taking care of, I dunno, health-related things? And a department of homeland security (hate that name) that's supposed to be responsible for things that threaten the security of the country.

Some days I think my cat could do a better job of running the country.